A Past Forgotten
by ConsistentlyInconsistent
Summary: After weeks of unrest due to unnerving dreams, Zaraki Kenpachi is admitted into Unohana's care. Over time feelings will grow and pasts uncover in this romantic tale. KenxUno
1. Dreams

Chapter one: Dreams

Zaraki Kenpachi wandered the abyssal darkness he found himself in. He knew that he'd been there before, but it seemed new every time. Suddenly a tiny cry reached his ears and he started seeking out the source of the sound. If it hadn't sounded like the owner of said cry was so pitiful, his normal sadistic smile would have crept across his features. "Caring for Yachiru all these years has made me soft." Kenpachi mused to himself with a scoff.

That's when he saw it. The owner of the cry, sitting with their knees pulled against their chest and crying into their folded arms. They were sitting in the only visible light in the god-forsaken, seemingly-never-ending abyss. And it was a child. What appeared to be a young girl not much older than Yachiru had been when she'd become his Lieutenant.

"Oi! What's wrong, kid?" The gruff Captain called out. "Where are we?"

As if being startled, the young girl hiccupped as her soft sobbing stopped despite the tears that were still flowing freely down her face. She turned to gaze at him with a disquieting look. Her eyes were a shocking lime green that seemed to pierce the very soul of the mighty Zaraki Kenpachi. Her hair was a darker shade of green, bordering on black. But two things drew Kenpachi's attention the most; the look in her eyes that was almost like a mix of pleading, fear, anger, and anticipation to see what he would do next, and the crimson blood on her face, arms, and legs that was such a stark contrast to her brightly colored eyes. He could tell that the blood was hers from the multiple cuts and nicks that marred her young body.

"We're in all that's left…and it hurts." The girl spoke in an eerily calm, flat tone.

The cryptic answers only left Kenpachi with more questions. "Left of what? What hurts? What happened to you kid?" Despite his rough and battle hardened exterior, Kenpachi didn't like it when children were beaten up on. Adults could defend themselves; most children (especially girls) couldn't fight back.

"IT hurts. You have to leave this place now. Maybe you could come back. I don't like being alone." The blood stained girl said as she stood on her feet and made her way from her haven in the light over through the darkness to stand in front of Kenpachi. Upon her standing, Kenpachi could see that her clothes as well as her skin had cuts and were tattered with red stains. "Goodbye, Zaraki-sama." The girl said as she pressed her small hand to his abdomen and gave a slight push that sent Kenpachi zooming out of the darkness and sitting up in his bed panting in a cold sweat.

"What…the…hell?" Captain Zaraki questioned between breaths. 'It was a dream.' He thought as he drew his knees up and propped his forehead in his palm and his elbow on a knee. 'That same damn dream.' Then Kenpachi started lightly hitting his forehead with the heel of his palm as he said, "Get out of there, dammit."

He'd been having the same or a similar dream for about a couple of weeks now. Albeit, that 

was the farthest it had ever gotten. It usually just ended as he was wandering around in the infinite darkness searching for the source of the crying…and each night he awoke exhausted, as though he hadn't slept at all but just gone somewhere else. Feeling completely drained of all his energy he flopped back on his bed until he heard a knocking at his door and the cheerful call of his alarm clock aka Kusajishi Yachiru.

"Keeeenn-chaaaaaann!! Are you up yet?! It's time to go to work!" Yachiru called to her surrogate father through the thin sliding paper door.

Looking over to the door, Kenpachi could see the bouncing silhouette of the girl he'd come to name, raise, and see as the closest thing to a family he'd ever had. Despite being how tired he was and fighting the urge to tell her to go away and let him sleep, 'Ken-chan' sat back up at the edge of his bed and called "I'll be right there," as he stood and began to dress. He didn't have the energy to form his hair into the normal jingly spikes so he merely grabbed a white ribbon Yachiru had brought him one day and pulled it into a low ponytail then grabbed his sword from beside his bed and opened the door. Yachiru stood on the other side beaming up at him in all her pinkness.

She had grown over the years into a young woman that was starting to get lots of attention from the newer male shinigami recruits. 'I'll smash their damn heads in if I find any of them talking to her…' he thought in a very fatherly way. He knew that all the attention of the young men was being wasted though. She'd never expressed any interest in the opposite sex…with the exception of one. Though she'd never admit it out loud, he had noticed that she'd grown very fond of the ryoka-turned-shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo. Kenpachi had grown to have a general swordsman respect for the young man, and knew that if Ichigo wasn't already taken by the Orihime girl, he'd be the only one Kenpachi could ever approve of for Yachiru. "Gods I feel old…" he muttered to himself.

Feeling a light tug on his sleeve, Kenpachi looked down to see Yachiru's concerned eyes gazing up at him. "Are you alright, Ken-chan? You have dark circles under your eyes and you're talking to yourself and you didn't fix your hair and—"

"I'm fine, brat." Kenpachi cut off with one of his odd endearments for her. "Let's go. Are Ikkaku and Yumichika already at the training fields with the men?"

"Hai, Ken-chan!" Yachiru chirped as she jumped on his back once he started walking down the hallway. 'I'm still worried that something's wrong with Ken-chan, but if he says he's okay, he must be okay……unless…he doesn't want me to worry about him?' Yachiru continued to think until said thoughts were interrupted by her Captain and father-figure.

"Oi, Yachiru, how long are you gonna keep riding on my back? You're not exactly as small as you used to be, ya know." He said in a raspy, tired voice that still managed to hold a joking tone when speaking with her.

Giggling, Yachiru responded, "You're silly, Ken-chan! Until I find someone else that'll carry me like this, of course!" But inside Yachiru was starting to really worry about the one person 

that made up her entire world. 'I'll go talk to someone in fourth squad later today…'

"So I should probably invest in a back brace then, huh? Cause, girlie, good luck finding someone that let's you get away with as much as I do." Kenpachi said with a small, dry chuckle.

"I just have to find someone who loves me as much as you do!" Yachiru said with a big grin as they reached the training grounds.

As soon as he stepped into his squads training grounds and everyone felt his spirit pressure they dropped what they'd been doing and saluted their Captain and Lieutenant with the same thought, 'Why is his spirit pressure so soft?'

Ikkaku and Yumichika were front and center within a matter of seconds to receive the orders for the day and the drill instructions. "The usual, guys. I'm going to sit over here for a while and watch to see where everyone is in their training." Captain Zaraki ordered in his deep, raspy voice that didn't seem to have the same bite to it that it usually had.

As their Captain went to sit down, the third and fifth seats of the eleventh division exchanged questioning looks, but turned to instruct the other men of the squad on the day's agenda and drill routines.

Once Kenpachi was seated in the grass and leaning against a large stone he noticed that Yachiru had disappeared somewhere…again. Sighing, Kenpachi fleetingly thought, 'Damn kid's never gonna settle down and sit still.' He would have closed his eyes and tried to get a quick nap, but he knew what was awaiting him in his dreams: darkness, crying, and possibly a tattered and blood stained little girl that reminded him a little too much of a young Yachiru.

Kusajishi Yachiru was a familiar face in the fourth division building. She'd spent many days there in the past with her Captain as he would heal from various wounds from various fights. They had actually asked her to come sit with him many times due to the fact that if he was left alone he would try to escape.

The first person Yachiru encountered was the bashful Isane. "'Sane-chan! Hey! 'Sane-chan!" Yachiru called running after the short-haired Lieutenant.

Hearing her nickname, Isane turned around to see the bubbly, pink-haired Lieutenant of the eleventh division waving as she ran toward her. To be completely honest, Isane had been scared of the much younger girl years ago because…well…she was just a really intimidating person in a really small package. But through the years they had become friends and Isane greeted Yachiru with her own smile, small wave, and "Ya-chan, what brings you out here?"

"I don't think Ken-chan is feeling well, but he won't say anything because he's stubborn." 

Yachiru answered with a pout as she approached Isane.

The fourth squad Lieutenant knew how deeply her friend cared for the scary Captain and gave a look of sympathy as she asked, "Well what seems to be wrong with him? Maybe I could help."

"Well, he's seemed really tired here lately and I haven't seen him actually eat anything in I don't know how long and everyone in the division can tell that his spirit pressure has started getting weaker lately." Yachiru explained, whispering the last part. "All the men have started talking about it and I'm worried what might happen if Ken-chan hears any of it."

"Hmmm…I'm not sure what to say about all of that. Let's go talk to Captain Unohana." Isane suggested as she and Yachiru started walking down the hallway to the Captain of the fourth division's office.

Once they reached the door, Isane gently knocked on the door and waited for a sign that it was okay to enter before sliding the door open and bowing to her Captain who was sitting at a desk filling out paper work.

With the same motherly smile she always wore, Unohana Retsu greeted her Lieutenant and Lieutenant Kusajishi. "Good afternoon, Ladies. What can I do for you? Would you like some tea?" Unohana offered as she set down her writing brush and stood to get her kettle.

"No thank you, Captain. Lieutenant Kusajishi came by with some concerns about her Captain and we were wondering if you could help her."

Setting her kettle down so the water would boil, Captain Unohana turned to the pink-clad young woman and said, "Well dear, do tell me what seems to be the trouble with him this time. I must ask first though if he's bleeding and in need of some sort of immediate medical attention."

"No, ma'am." Yachiru answered politely. After spending much time with the elder woman, Yachiru had come to see her almost as the mother-figure that had been so absent through most of her life. "Ken-chan has been acting funny lately. He always seems very tired, hardly eats, and his spirit pressure is dropping. He won't say anything about it and says he's fine, but everyone in the division can tell that something is wrong." Yachiru explained a second time with worry in her voice.

"Well, dear," Unohana answered as she turned to her whistling tea kettle, "it sounds to me like he's probably not sleeping well due to some kind of stress and probably isn't eating for the same reasons. Without proper rest and nutrition it's not uncommon for one's spirit pressure to drop. Because I feel that he's closer with you than most others, I want you to try to get him to get some bed rest and make him eat something every day. Start with small easy meals and foods at first, because if he hasn't eaten for a while it might be too much for his stomach to handle. Following those directions, I'd say he'd be back to his normal self in a week or so." Unohana reassured with a warm smile as she sipped her 

afternoon tea.

Bowing deeply, Yachiru said in a cheery voice, "Thank you, Captain Unohana! I'll be sure to—"

But she was interrupted by Yumichika slamming the office door open with a panicked expression on his face. "Thank the GODS! Captain Unohana! Please come quickly, it's our Captain! He's in the waiting room unconscious!"

After seeing their Captain settle down in the grass and mumble something to himself, Ikkaku turned to Yumichika and said, "Is it just me or is the Captain a little off here lately?"

"No, something is definitely wrong," Yumichika answered. "He looks very ill, not beautiful at all…although that ponytail he's wearing is rather becoming."

"Knock it off, Yumi. He looks like he could be knocked over with a feather." Ikkaku observed as he turned his attention back to the training men.

'What are those idiots chattering about?' Kenpachi wondered as he noticed his two subordinates talking and casting odd looks his way every now and then. 'I'm not a side show attraction, dammit!' Standing up with a little help from his zanpakutou for leverage, Kenpachi started toward the two chatter-boxes. "Oi! What the hell's so important that you two have time to ta—" But Zaraki Kenpachi was stopped as his knees suddenly buckled in mid-step and he fell forward in an unconscious state.

"Captain!!" Ikkaku and Yumichika along with several other squad members yelled as they rushed to his side. "He's still breathing," Ikkaku said. "But what the hell is going on here?! Come on Yumi, we're taking him to the fourth division! Aramaki! Continue working on the drills until we return." And with that the third and fifth seat picked up their leader and ran as fast as their legs could carry them, both wondering the same thing, 'How does Yachiru make this look so easy?!'

Upon arriving in the main hall of the fourth division's building which typically served as a waiting room, Kenpachi was laid on the floor as Yumichika stood and said, "Ikkaku, you stay with the Captain while I go find Captain Unohana."

Yumichika took off down a hallway searching for Captain Unohana's spirit force and found that she was with or near Lieutenant Kusajishi. When he finally found the door that would lead to the people he was desperately searching for, he flung the door open, saw the person that could possibly help his Captain, and yelled "Thank the GODS! Captain Unohana! Please come quickly, it's our Captain! He's in the waiting room unconscious!"

Yachiru gasped and had disappeared before anyone saw her take the first step in her mad dash to get to her 'Ken-chan'. Unohana and Isane were close behind. It wasn't everyday 

that the massive Zaraki Kenpachi was brought in for something that didn't have anything to do with him suffering from excessive blood loss.

By the time they had caught up to Yachiru they found the young girl seated next to her Captain talking to him, more like pleading with him to wake up, as she seemed to be on the verge of tears. Ikkaku was pacing behind her with no idea what he should be doing and almost let out a sigh of relief when he saw the healing Captain hurrying toward them.

As she reached the motionless body of Captain Zaraki, Unohana sat down immediately to check what vitals she could without equipment. "His breathing is far shallower than it should be and his pulse is very soft and rapid. Isane, get a stretcher for him. We need to move him to a room and start him on an IV as soon as possible."

"Hai, Captain Unohana!" Isane saluted as she ran off to do as she was told.

"Unohana-san, what's wrong with Ken-chan? Is he going to be okay??" Yachiru asked in a shaky voice. She was incredibly worried about the 6"7' Captain that lay unconscious in front of her.

"I hope so, Yachiru," Unohana answered with familiarity. "His condition is far worse than I had expected. I'm assuming he's been like this for a few weeks, and if someone his size does not get the food and water needed then dehydration or malnutrition can set in much faster. We're just going to have to start him on an IV drip to put some of the nutrients he needs back in his body, and then pray." Unohana said as she stood when Isane wheeled in a stretcher and they worked on getting the unconscious Captain onto the stretcher and into treatment.

A/N:  
:3 well, I think I'm gonna end this chapter there! Might be a little evil, but you'll all be okay : so what's everyone think? This is my first shot at a Bleach fic, so be gentle ; I like the Zaraki/Unohana pairing (probably for the same reason I like Kag/Sess pairing, they're just so darn different!) and that is what this story is going to be! I can honestly say that I haven't chosen ANY other pairings (except for Ichigo/Orihime) so if anyone has any requests I'll be happy to consider them and work them in if I like em!

I know Yachiru seems a little OOC, but I'm chalking that up to her just being older now. She's a little more mature and a little more emotional (as girls tend to get when they get older) I'm putting this in a time period after the whole Aizen thing (I'll explain that later on)

Well, I hope you enjoyed it and have fun with the next chapter which unless I was being super rushed should also be up :

ps—to anyone who has read my other story (Sing For Me) I'll hopefully have it's next chapter up soon as well. I had to take a break because I think the Gods cursed chapter 5 

because every time I get to the same spot I would have to go do something else and in my absence my computer shuts down for an unknown reason and I lose almost all of my work…needless to say I was about to break something. So sorry about that and you'll only have to wait a little longer!

TTFNFWA


	2. Savior

Chapter two: Savior

It had been a few days since Captain Zaraki had been admitted into the fourth divisions care and he had yet to awaken. It had taken a few fluid drips, an oxygen tube, and several cold packs to bring down a fever that developed, but late at night on the second day Zaraki Kenpachi's condition had stabilized and his vitals were normal. Now everyone was playing the waiting game to see when he'd wake up. He remained in a private room in a bed next to a window for fresh air and only an IV still in his arm to continue to give him the much needed nutrients until he woke up and could feed himself. Different people from the eleventh division had dropped by to check on their feared but beloved Captain, but weren't permitted to enter his room. Unohana had tried to convince Yachiru to go back to her division building, but Yachiru insisted on putting Ikkaku in charge until the Captain's return and hadn't moved from the window sill at his bedside.

Once the news had gotten around the Court of Pure Souls that the mighty Zaraki Kenpachi had passed out and was laid up in the fourth division, there was almost an uproar and the rumors were flying. Most thought he was either dead or dying and several had come in for full physicals due to one particular rumor about a vicious plague. Several of the other Captains had come by to pay their respects and merely see if it was true.

It was mid-afternoon when Captain Unohana came in to check on her latest and most troubling patient. She knew Captain Zaraki to be a physically strong and strong willed person and couldn't help but wonder what was taking him so long to awaken from his almost comatose state. "Yachiru?" She called out, knowing the Lieutenant to be within earshot.

"Is he awake?!" Yachiru popped up from just outside the window with a hopeful look in her eyes. But the look fell as she saw Unohana sadly shake her head and looked to Kenpachi to confirm the negative answer. Sighing, Yachiru pulled herself back up to her usual perch on the window sill.

"Have you been talking to him regularly? That can aid quite a bit in guiding him back to us."

"Yea, I've told him about everything that Ikkaku has been reporting to me and about all the rumors going around and everything else I can think of." Yachiru said dejectedly. She slowly pulled a small crimson silk pouch out of her robes and Unohana gave her a questioning look. "They're his bells," Yachiru explained with a sad smile. "I had Yumi get them for me. Do you have any string Unohana-san? I would like to hang them in the window so that when the wind blows he can hear them." Yachiru said as she cast a lonely gaze at the unconscious man below her.

"That's a brilliant idea, Yachiru. I'll go find some string for you right now." Unohana said as she left the room, noting how much the young Lieutenant had sobered up now that her only family wasn't there for her. 'I hope he wakes up soon,' Unohana thought. 'She needs him in her life very much.' Upon reaching her office, she checked her supply cabinet and found a ball of string and a lollipop to hopefully cheer up the pink candy-monger.  


Meanwhile, Kenpachi was back in the ever-familiar darkness. Upon first arriving it had been silent. And oddly enough, the first sound that he heard wasn't the usual crying, but a light humming. He'd set out to follow the sound and after several hours of wandering he came across the same young girl.

Her clothes were still tattered, but it looked like the blood had been cleaned from her skin. When he looked closer, Kenpachi almost winced when he saw the bright red, still healing scars on the girl's skin and the darker scars below the fresh ones. She seemed content enough for the moment as she played with a small cabbage butterfly that was fluttering in the light and she dug in what appeared to be a small patch of grass.

Staying just outside of the small circle of light, Kenpachi seated himself on the ground and watched her until she looked up and acknowledged him. "Hello, Zaraki-sama." She greeted with a small smile that still wasn't quite reaching her eyes. "I'm very sorry for what happened to you. You really should take better care of yourself."

"What do you mean? What happened to me? Am I not asleep like usual and just dreaming?" Asked a confused Captain Zaraki.

"Nope, you've been in the hospital for a few days now. I guess with no sun or moon it does get a little hard to tell time."

"How the hell do you know that? Who are you?"

"I know about everything that goes on outside. I see it all. And you have to remember a few very important things before I can tell you who I am. Would you like to see what's going on outside, too?"

"Yea, let me see. What am I supposed to remember?"

Standing up and turning to Kenpachi's left, the young girl waved her hand in a large arc and almost like watching a movie, a large screen appeared and Kenpachi could see what he would have been seeing if his eyes were open. "And as far as what you're supposed to remember," the girl said turning to face him again, "I can't tell you what it is, but I can help you remember it."

Kenpachi watched the screen to his left and saw Captain Unohana smiling as Yachiru hung a string of bells in the window that started to make a light tinkling sound as a small breeze picked up. "She's been there ever since you were put in the hospital." The young girl commented coming out of her light and over to sit down next to Kenpachi who was now fully facing the screen.

"So what exactly happened to me?"  


"You weren't taking care of yourself and you passed out, more or less."

"Damn…I'm never going to hear the end of this from Ikkaku. How could I have been so weak that I passed out?" Kenpachi said with a slight chuckle.

"Many people are worried about you; especially that girl there." The green-eyed girl said as she pointed up to Yachiru. "Who is she to you? I haven't figured that out yet. I've only been watching you for a few months."

Pondering the question for a moment, Kenpachi answered, "Well, I guess she's like my…daughter or something. We just kind of found each other and kept one another company ever since."

"Okay." And that was all that the little girl said before she stood up, brushed herself off and went to sit back in her light. "Should I show you how to get out of here? I know that a lot of people would be happy to see you again."

"You can do that?"

The girl answered by reaching just outside her light and tapped the ground. From the place her fingertips touched a glowing green line started to extend away from the light. "If you follow that you'll come to a door. All you have to do is walk through it."

"Thanks kid." Kenpachi said as he took a couple of steps follow the line.

"Wait. Will you promise to come back? Things aren't as scary when you're here with me."

"Sure kid. I'll come back and you can help me remember whatever it is that I forgot." Kenpachi said as he gave a rare gentle smile and started walking away again.

"I hope he keeps his promise." The girl said to herself as the edge of her green eyes rimmed with a dark red and she watched her grass wither and die again.

Groaning, Kenpachi slowly opened his eyes and blinked a few times waiting for his vision in his one uncovered eye to clear before speaking in a hoarse voice, "Yachiru?"

At hearing her name called by the one voice she'd been longing to hear, the napping Lieutenant snapped her eyes open and looked down, shocked at seeing an awake and smiling Kenpachi.

"What? You look like I just told you there's no more candy in the world." He joked with a dry laugh.

Yachiru began to cry as she punched him in the arm and dropped down from her place in the window to lie next to him in the bed like she did when she was little and scared of the ghost stories Ikkaku would tell her before bedtime. "Don't you ever scare me like that again! Got that idiot?!" She cried out in a cracked voice as she hit his chest once more.

Kenpachi wrapped his arm around the much smaller girl in a comforting manner as she cried. "I'm sorry, brat. But come on, crying? I haven't seen you cry in years." He said as he tried to comfort her.

Unohana had been walking down a corridor when she heard Yachiru's incoherent yelling at someone. Thinking that someone had snuck in to see the Captain, Unohana decided to go check on things only to find a crying Yachiru and a conscious Captain Zaraki. "Captain Zaraki, it's very good to see that you've come back to us." Unohana greeted in a warm, cheerful voice. "We were quite worried there for a while. Yachiru, when you're feeling up to it, why don't you go tell the rest of your division that their Captain is awake so they can stop coming to bother my staff every hour?"

A sniffling but smiling Yachiru sat up and nodded her head as she looked back down at her beloved Captain and gave a watery laugh through her tears of joy.

"And do take your time; I would like to speak with Captain Zaraki in private for a while." Unohana clarified as she watched Yachiru leap from the window laughing. "Well now Captain Zaraki," she started as she turned back to face Kenpachi, "you gave everyone quite the scare. How do you feel now? It's been a while since you've had anything to drink so I imagine your throat is dry. Would you like some tea?"

"That would be nice." Answered a still tired Kenpachi.

"Very well then, I'll be back in a few moments with some tea for us. Is Jasmine fine with you?"

Kenpachi nodded his response and the fourth division Captain left the room. He was still wondering about everything the girl from his dreams had said. 'Is it just that; a dream? Or is there something more to this than some delusion brought on by stress or too many blows to the head?' Kenpachi thought to himself with a sigh. He had many questions of his own and decided to talk to Unohana about it when she returned to talk to him.

After a few minutes, Captain Unohana reappeared carrying a tray with two steaming cups of Jasmine tea which she sat down on a bedside table so that she could help Captain Zaraki sit up to make drinking easier. Pulling a chair next to his bed, Unohana handed Kenpachi his cup and sat down with her own giving him a kind smile. "So how do you feel?"

After Kenpachi had taken a few sips of the warm liquid to moisten his throat some, he replied, "Well enough. How long was I out?"

"A few days, and I'd be expecting quite a few visitors if I were you. I'll only permit them to 

come in once you've given the okay though."

"What? You mean I can't leave now? I just said I feel fine." Kenpachi said a little agitated.

"No, Captain Zaraki, you may not. I want you to stay here at least another week so that I can make sure that you're eating well again and watch for any side effects from the past couple of weeks of dehydration. I swear, it's a miracle you didn't pass out sooner." Unohana said in her normal calm, warm voice.

"You really are annoying you know that? You're always so damn formal and calm." Kenpachi huffed.

"Then is this better, Zaraki-san?"

"Barely."

Unohana couldn't help but cover her mouth as she quietly giggled. She was actually very glad that he could get some of his liveliness back this soon after his ordeal. 'He's no different from any of my other patients. Why am I so much happier about his waking?'

"Hey, Unohana, I have a question. For the past few weeks I've been having the same damn dream. It's really dark and there's this kid that's been showing up lately. In this last dream, while I was out cold, she said I need to remember something that she can't tell me, but she'll help me with it. Is it all just a dream or is it real?"

A shocked Captain Unohana sat quietly for a few moments. After getting over the fact that the rough Zaraki Kenpachi had opened up to her with a question, she answered, "Well I can't be sure. Some dreams can seem very real and still be merely dreams. But if she says that there's something you should remember and she keeps appearing, what could it hurt to go along with it?"

Mulling over her answer for a moment, Kenpachi looked up and said, "Thanks. I'll do that. I'd like to get this over with so that I can get a good night's sleep."

"Try drinking tea before bed. Some types of tea are very calming and can act as a sleeping aid."

"Sure." Kenpachi said as he finished off his tea.

Unohana had been right. He'd received many visitors, mainly from his squad. Yachiru had come back and was in one of the best moods he'd seen her in for a long time. He'd told her what Unohana had said about his having to stay for another week and she'd pouted at first, but then thought about it and agreed. She'd even gone as far as to threaten him if he tried to sneak away.

A couple of days had passed and Captain Unohana had come to check on him a few times everyday. She'd started weaning his body off of the fluid drip and back onto actual foods starting with soups of course, which he was now thoroughly sick of seeing as he didn't much care for them in the first place. He'd talked to her, small talk at first and then things had grown to them having actual conversations. The previous evening she'd sat and talked with him late into the night until she'd realized the time. They had been talking about their Captain duties and how life had been in general. He wondered if she would come and sit with him again. He didn't like to admit it, but he realized that after having Yachiru as a constant companion through all the years he was very lonely when he didn't have anyone to talk to or bicker with.

He'd dreamt of the darkness again. The first night after he'd awoken he'd dreamt of the darkness, but it was silent until he heard the girl's laughter. When he found the light she wasn't there yet her laughter was close as if she was just out of his range of sight. Then the previous night had been very disturbing. Within only a few moments of his arriving in the darkness he heard the blood-chilling, terrified screams of the young girl. He'd ran as fast as he could toward where he believed the light to be, but when he arrived he only found an empty circle of light that had two small bloody handprints that looked as though the owner had been dragged away. He continued to hear her screams of fear and pain and tried to chase in the direction he thought they were coming from, but every time he started getting close they would change direction.

He wasn't looking forward to sleeping tonight. Just as his recollections ended he heard the gentle sliding open of the door to his room and the light footsteps of the small fourth division Captain. The sun was just beginning to set, pouring the orange light through his window, as Captain Unohana sat in her usual chair and handed him his usual cup of Jasmine tea. Captain Unohana had been surprised to learn that the gruff Zaraki Kenpachi liked tea as much as she did.

When Kenpachi had turned to her to accept the steaming beverage he was almost transfixed when his eyes landed on the kindly Captains face. The light from the sunset was hitting her features in just the right way that it made everything about her seem that much warmer and kinder. With a quick "Thanks," he turned back to look out the window.

"Did you dream of her again?" Unohana asked as she gingerly blew on the still hot tea.

"Yea…but she wasn't there this time either."

"Well what happened?" Unohana had taken quite an interest in his dreams. She'd never heard of reoccurring dreams quite like this one.

"When I got to the light I only found her bloody handprints. It looked like something had dragger her away, but I've never seen anything else in there. I kept hearing her screams though. I chased after them, but I never could catch up to her." Kenpachi said with a heavy heart. Even though he still didn't know if it was just a dream or not, he had felt like he'd let 

the girl down in some way.

"I'm sorry. I'm sure it must have been terrible not being able to see her or help her, but still being able to hear her. If there's something there that you can't see you should be more careful."

"But it's only a dream."

"What if it's not?" She countered. "What if this is a place that's just as real to you as the things out here? It may be a real place that only you can enter." She theorized.

"I don't know…" Kenpachi trailed off.

"Captain Unohana!" Isane called as she ran into the room clearly out of breath. "There was a Hollow attack and we have several injured that we need your help with! Please come with me."

"Oh dear," Unohana said a she set her cup down on the table. "I'll send someone to get the cups later. I hope your dreams are more pleasant this evening, Zaraki-san."

"Thank you, Unohana…-chan." Kenpachi tentatively added.

Unohana looked at him and blushed lightly as she closed his door and followed Isane.

Kenpachi once again made his way through the darkness towards the light yet again. He was glad when he saw a small green blob that he knew was the girl, but became worried when she didn't move or make a sound; she only lay there completely still. He picked up his pace and got there to see the small girl lying in a good sized pool of blood, curled up on her side in a fetal position, eyes wide, and shivering.

He automatically felt a fatherly concern that he would normally only feel for Yachiru, the girl he was so reminded of when he looked at this small green-clad girl. He pulled off his outer coat and wrapped the small child in it and picked her up in his arms. He sat within the light for the first time and felt that it was much warmer than the darkness; it was very similar to sitting in the sunlight. When he initially picked her up she began to thrash and scream as though he would hurt her until she connected with his eyes and saw who it was…then she curled up and began to cry as he held her in the safety of his arms.

They stayed like that for some time before she finally calmed down. "Thank you, Zaraki-sama." She said with a small, sad smile. "You saved me."

"What happened last night? I tried to find you but I only heard your screams."

"They got me." She answered quietly.  


"Who got you?" Kenpachi asked thoroughly confused.

The girl reached up and put her tiny hands on Kenpachi's temples and said, "THEY got me."

As her small hands made contact with his head he could suddenly see creatures lurking in the darkness. They were red-eyed, fanged demons of every shape and size. Some with claws, some with wings, and some that stood upright. They stood in the darkness snarling and growling at him and the girl. "What are those?"

"I'm not the only creature that lives here. They stay in the dark though. They aren't allowed in the light."

"Why haven't I seen them or been attacked by them so far?" Kenpachi asked wishing for a fight with a few of them.

"They know where they are. They know who you are. And they know not to attack you. They're only after me now." She explained as she shivered again.

"What's all that mean? Where ARE we? You've never told me."

"We're in your mind, of course." She said like it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Where else could we be, silly?" She questioned with a small smile.

At that moment she looked exactly like Yachiru with longer, green hair. It did make sense that they were in his mind during his dreams. He just never imagined his mind would be this…dark. Or have a little girl as an inhabitant, for that matter.

He was suddenly pulled out of his thoughts though when the small, green-clad girl crawled out of his arms to sit in front of him. "She's very pretty, you know? I think you like her."

Kenpachi sputtered. "W-what?! Who…what are you talking about?" Kenpachi questioned in feigned ignorance as he turned his head and crossed his arms.

Giggling, the girl looked at him and said, "Unohana-san of course. I think you like her. You thought she was pretty in the sunlight didn't you?"

"Oi! You listen to me, brat! I'm allowed to acknowledge a little attractiveness now and again. And I don't "like her," it's infatuation at most. The feeling will be gone once I'm released from that hellish bed."

"Just admit that you like her company and attention, Zaraki-sama. But you have to go for now; bye-bye Zaraki-sama!" The girl said as she yet again placed her hand on his chest and gave a push that sent him flying out of the dream.

"Damn kid…" Kenpachi thought as he sat up in bed after awaking from his dream.

A/N:  
Woo! Another chapter. I'm turning them out fairly quickly on this one. I'm just on a roll. Let's hope it keeps up, shall we? This is the last chapter I'm going to post for today. I think two chapters from me in one day is quite generous haha! I'm going to keep writing them though and try to update at least once a week. You can all thank my boyfriend for me updating at all though since I can't get online from my laptop (which is where I do all my work) because he's letting me borrow his zip-drive to transfer everything over to the only internet capable computer in my house all together now: Thank you, Will! See you guys later! Hope you're enjoying so far, tell me what you think!

TTFNFWA  
(TTFN TaTa For Now…if you didn't know that, go watch some Winnie-the-Pooh and pay attention to Tigger )


	3. Sharing

I don't own anything except the green girl and twisted plot : sorry in advance for any errors, I only had time to proof read this once before I had to update and run out of the house!

Chapter three: Sharing

Captain Unohana had finished bandaging and tending to the officers injured in the Hollow attack and decided to return to Captain Zaraki's room to check on him before she went home for the night. She quietly entered the room with the intent of picking up the cups left earlier and making sure he wasn't tossing in his sleep. As she approached his bed he seemed peaceful enough as the light from the moon shone through the open window and onto his calm face. 'He really does look so much more at peace when he's asleep.' And then realizing what she was thinking, Unohana cupped a hand to her cheek and shook her head as a light blush dusted her cheeks. "Stop that, Retsu." She whispered. "This is just a silly infatuation. When he leaves, so will this feeling. Stop acting like an academy student."

But just as she was turning to pick up the cups so she could leave she saw Zaraki's eyes snap open glowing a hellish red. She gasped and put a hand over her mouth when she saw this, slowly taking a few steps back. After a short moment his eyes returned to normal and slowly shut again. Unohana sank to her knees and sat in the floor as a few tears escaped her wide eyes. She couldn't recall the last time she'd been that scared. Once her heart slowed to its normal pace, she stood and hurriedly grabbed the cups and exited the room.

She was on edge the entire walk home and didn't sleep well at all that night. She could only dream of a pair of terrifyingly red eyes watching her. She got up early in the morning after giving up on sleep and decided to get ready and go to work. "I'll let Isane handle checking in on Zaraki-san today. I'm not sure I can face him now…" She trailed off while musing to herself.

Kenpachi looked to his door expectantly waiting to see Unohana's smiling face, but was instead greeted with the bowing figure of Isane. "Ohayo, Captain Zaraki. I've brought your breakfast." She hurried across the floor to set the tray in his lap, eager to leave the room and his intense presence. She honestly couldn't figure out how Captain Unohana was able to stay in this room for the long periods of time she did.

Kenpachi looked down at the tray in his lap and saw a bowl of rice, a plate of what appeared to be grilled fish, and a small bowl of miso soup. 'At least we're up to solids now.' He joked in his head. Before Isane could leave the room he called out to her, "Oi, where's Unohana this morning?"

Turning around timidly, Isane answered "Captain Unohana wasn't feeling well when she came in this morning so I will be attending to you for today and until she is feeling well."

"Oh…" Was all Kenpachi said as Isane turned to leave and shut the door; leaving him alone once again. He'd grown used to Unohana sitting with him as he ate his meals and discussing his most recent dreams in the mornings over breakfast. "I have the feeling that today's meals are going to be awkwardly silent." Kenpachi said to himself as he picked up his small bowl of soup and took a sip from its edge.  


He'd been correct. All three of his meals had been delivered by the quiet Isane girl and had been eaten in the same deafening silence as he stared out of his window, longing to be back outside in the fresh air and sunlight. All the while the same thoughts cycled in his mind. The first was that he wished he hadn't convince Yachiru to stay at the division building to look after things until he returned, the second was his general pondering over his dream from the previous night, and the third was what was wrong with Unohana. She'd seemed fine when she'd been called to help treat patients last night.

It was about the time that the cycle of thoughts completed for the hundredth time that Isane came back into his room. "Captain Zaraki, I'll be heading home for tonight. I will see you in the morning. Pleasant dreams." She finished with a low bow.

Kenpachi merely watched her go, not saying a word. After she had shut the door and he heard her footsteps fade away and then heard the silence of the hallway he heaved a sigh of relief. "Finally; I thought they'd never go home." Kenpachi said as the pulled his sheets back and moved his legs over the edge of the bed. "I'm gonna go find Unohana and see just what's wrong with her."

He cautiously stood up, making sure that his legs would still support him after a week of non-use. After giving a few test steps and doing okay after the first couple of wobbly ones, Zaraki Kenpachi made his way to the door of his room, slowly slid it open so he could peer down the hallway to double-check that it was empty, and then proceeded to sneak down the hallway in the direction he knew the Captain's office to be.

"Unohana's probably gonna kill me for leaving my room." Kenpachi said as he continued to make his way down the hallway wearing his white hospital robes.

Unohana was standing by her office window with a cup of tea watching the sun set over the tall buildings within the Court of Pure Souls. It really was beautiful. She was so distracted that when she heard her office door open and shut she assumed it was Isane coming to address one more matter before going home. "I thought I already told you to go home, Isane?" Unohana absently said as she continued to gaze out at the sunset.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to go home yet."

The deep, gravelly voice of Captain Zaraki startled her so much she almost dropped her tea cup as she turned around. "Zaraki-san! You scared me." 'You seem to be making quite a habit out of that here lately.' "Why are you out of bed? You need to return to your room. I'll accompany you, come—"

"You seem fine to me, even if you are a bit more nervous than before." Kenpachi stated. "So why have you been avoiding me today?"

"I…I have not been avoiding you. I did not sleep well last night as wasn't feeling well. I am feeling better now though, so if you'll kindly return—"

"Why didn't you sleep well?"

"Didn't anyone ever tell you how rude it is to interrupt people?" Unohana huffed. "And I couldn't sleep well because of disturbing dreams."

Kenpachi let out a deep chuckle and sat in a chair that was placed in front of her desk. "It seems that the ever calm Unohana can become annoyed just like anyone else. I'm glad to see that. And as far as sleepless nights and disturbing dreams go, it looks like we're two passengers in the same boat. Would you like to talk about it?" Kenpachi offered. 'Since when do I reach out? Why should I care?' He thought as he extended his hand to her desk chair.

Sighing, Unohana sat in the chair. 'It looks as though I won't be able to avoid this.' Unohana thought as she described her dream about being watched by the red, glowing eyes.

Kenpachi sat quietly and listened. Then he asked "Why would you dream about a pair of glowing red eyes?"

"Because I saw these eyes before I left for home." Unohana admitted hesitantly.

"Was it a Hollow?" Zaraki asked feeling slightly alarmed for her safety. 'What is wrong with me?! I should not be feeling this. I'm strong. I don't feel emotions…only pain and adrenaline.' He thought resolutely.

"No," Unohana answered, chewing her lower lip slightly before continuing with, "they were your eyes."

That was one answer he hadn't expected. "What are you talking about? I didn't even see you after you left to go treat those wounded officers."

"I came back to get the tea cups. As I glanced over at you while you were asleep your eyes opened and they were glowing this terrifying bright red. It scared me very much. Have you ever known this to happen in the past?"

"No," he answered as he thought of a possible explanation. "But during my dream the kid touched the sides of my head and I could see these demons with red eyes. Could that have had anything to do with it?"

"Possibly. I don't think these are just dreams anymore Zaraki-san. What else happened in your dream?" Unohana sat and listened to all the details and conversation that Kenpachi recalled, without the part concerning her of course. "She said that this is all taking place inside your mind? That would make sense, but from now on I want you to be very careful when you go there in your dreams, Zaraki-san. Even if the girl said that these creatures won't attack you, we've all seen someone's mind turn on them; Hinamori-san is a prime example of this."

"I don't think I'll have that problem. I'm stronger than that girl in a lot of ways."

"It still couldn't hurt to be cautious. Now come on, it's late. I'll walk you back to your room and then I'm going home for the evening."

After closing up her office, Unohana and Kenpachi started walking back to his room making small talk along the way. Upon reaching his door, Kenpachi opened it and stepped just inside the doorway then turned to face Unohana. "Well, thank you for the chat and the walk. Are you going home now?" Kenpachi asked. For some reason unknown to him he was nervous.

"Yes, I'll be going now. Do you need anything before I depart for the night?"

"No, no; I'm fine. Just promise that you won't avoid me tomorrow." Kenpachi joked.

"Okay, Zaraki-san. It's a promise." Unohana said as she blushed.

Kenpachi turned his head to the side, finding the wood grain of the doorway suddenly very interesting, as he tried to hide his blush as well. Coughing nervously, Kenpachi said, "Well goodnight then." But he suddenly looked down when he felt arms wrap around his waist in a quick hug as Unohana said:

"Thank you for listening and opening up to me, Zaraki-san." Then she quickly pulled away and started walking down the hallway.

The still blushing Kenpachi called after her "Goodnight and pleasant dreams, Unohana-chan."

Unohana stopped and turned around to shyly say "Goodnight and pleasant dreams…Kenpachi-kun." After saying this she started blushing furiously as she smiled and quickly turned back around to start on her way home.

A now very red Kenpachi turned and closed his door behind him as he made his way to his bed. His dreams passed without much incident. They mainly consisted of the green child gently teasing 'Kenpachi-kun' and replaying the scenes of the hug and Unohana turning to leave on the giant screen of his mind's eye over and over. Kenpachi decided this kid was definitely related to Yachiru somehow.

A/N:  
okay, so it was a relatively short chapter compared to my others (about half as long). But it was kind of an early filler/chance to advance character relationships chapter I really hope you're all enjoying this. I've been realizing as I write that Ken-chan is sounding a bit more articulate and calm than usual. Well I think that when he's not around his men, he's probably not as gruff as he has to be around them to get his respect. Be sure to tune in for the next chapter because it's gonna have stuff about Ken-chan and Unohana's pasts (pre-shinigami years). But I do have to warn you that I'm gonna be making up a lot of it just for story and plot depth haha so hopefully you won't all hate me later! Hope you're enjoying and be sure to let me know what you think! Later!

TTFNFWA


	4. Home Again

Disclaimer: I don't own, nobody tattles (not that I think any of you would ), I don't get sued.  
Please read A/N at end of chapter for important announcement about udates!! Enjoy!

Chapter four: Home Again

Kenpachi awoke the next morning actually feeling pretty well rested. He also found that he was surprisingly eager to see Unohana again. "Stupid kid is getting to me. What else am I supposed to think with her telling me all night that I like Unohana? It's gotta be subliminal or something…" Kenpachi grumbled to himself. It was Friday. He only had a few more days until he could leave and be done with this emotion business.

(Quick timeline A/N: He passed out Friday, woke up Monday and was then told he had to stay another week for observation, etc. it's now Friday of his observation week. Now back to the story—)

It wasn't long after he'd woken up that Unohana entered his room with her normal warm smile and warm tray of food. "Good morning, Zaraki-san. How did you sleep?"

"Well enough," he said with his usual answer. Inwardly he felt a small pang in his chest as he thought 'What happened to "Kenpachi-kun?" That was kind of nice…' "How did you sleep? Any better?"

"Much better, thank you for asking." Unohana beamed. "So Zaraki-san, are there any new developments with the young girl in your dreams?"

"Not really, she's just becoming more and more like a young Yachiru with each dream."

"Very interesting. One has to wonder if Yachiru is the way she is due to just her individual personality or from being raised by you, Zaraki-san. If this other girl is becoming like Yachiru it may be your presence that brings out this behavior in young girls." Unohana teasingly hypothesized as she covered her mouth to hide her light giggling to no avail.

"Oi! Yachiru is the way she is because candy rotted her brain when she was younger. I have no idea what's wrong with this one." Kenpachi huffed. He listened to her laughter and thought vaguely that it reminded him of the sound the string of bells in his window made.

"I am sorry, Zaraki-san. Sometimes it's fun to tease you a little. Yachiru has grown into a lovely, strong young woman, and that is all thanks to you." She said with a smile.

"Unohana…" Kenpachi started after setting his chopsticks down, "why do you keep calling me by Zaraki? I liked it much better last night when you called me by my name, Kenpachi."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I had heard that you had dubbed yourself Kenpachi and assumed that you had taken the name Zaraki as well. I didn't want to seem too familiar and offend you…"

"I did name myself Kenpachi, but Zaraki was a title stuck to me later by others that has just become a part of my name. Zaraki was the name given to the district of the rukongai I used to live in. It was by far one of the worst places in all of Soul Society. Everyday alive meant literally facing a kill-or-be-killed life. I was from Zaraki just as Yachiru was from the district called Kusajishi."

"I'm sorry," Unohana responded timidly. "I didn't know. That name must bring back horrible memories for you…"

"I don't remember much before Yachiru actually…" Kenpachi reminisced as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I mainly remember the fighting and the killing and how good it felt to win."

"Not many people know this, but I'm from the rukongai as well. Not from one of the rough districts, but from District two in Northern rukongai. Most people think I'm the daughter of one of the lower noble families that isn't mentioned often." Unohana admitted. "I wasn't born in Soul Society like so many others. I died and was brought here by a shinigami. Because of a spirit force I didn't even know I had in life I was appointed to squad four by Genryusai-dono. I don't remember much about when I was alive. I only know that I've been here for a few hundred years now."

Kenpachi was shocked at how much she had revealed to him about her past. "I never would have guessed that you were from the rukongai. You certainly act much more civilized than others I've met from out there." He complimented.

"Thank you," Unohana accepted with a slight nod of her head. "Were you born in Soul Society, Kenpachi…-kun?" Unohana asked as a blush appeared which she tried to hide with her sleeve as she pretended to turn her head away and cough.

"I don't remember anything of a childhood so I'm going to say no. But like I said earlier, I don't remember much before Yachiru came along." He said with a chuckle "And thank you for calling me by my name, Unohana-chan." He had mainly added the –chan to her name this time because he liked to see her blush. It was very becoming for her. "Actually, what is your full name? I don't think I've ever heard anyone call you anything but "Unohana"."

"Unohana Retsu. Many people have told me that Unohana becomes me much more than Retsu."

"Well I think both are good for you, Retsu-chan." Kenpachi said with a sly smirk.

At this point Unohana had so much blood rushing to her head she didn't even notice Kenpachi's cocky look. She just knew that she needed to get some fresh air and some tea to calm down before she passed out. "Well if you'll excuse me, Kenpachi-kun, I must be making my rounds. I'll be back with your lunch later." And with that Unohana left the room as if in a rush to be somewhere very important.

A very pleased with himself Kenpachi was merely left with the remainder of his breakfast as he watched a few birds flutter past his window. "Today is going to be a good day." He mused with a grin, taking another bite of rice.

Unohana walked into her office and shut the door as she leaned against the wall. She put a hand to her heart to feel it fluttering wildly and her stomach was doing flips. "Why do I feel this way?" Unohana questioned herself in a confused and yet giddy state. "I can't ever remember feeling this way in the past…well, I only have to keep this under control for another few days. He'll be released on Monday and things will be back to normal." She told herself as she took a few deep calming breaths. But no matter how she calmed herself, she couldn't hide the blush that continued to stain her cheeks or wipe the smile from her face.

The weekend passed without much event. The fourth division was minimally staffed due to many people taking the weekends as off time. Unohana had more time to spend talking with Kenpachi as she didn't have many other patients that required her attention. But as Sunday evening rolled around and they were saying their goodnights, neither could stop the faint feeling of regret that it had been their last full day together.

Upon waking on Monday morning, Kenpachi sighed as he grabbed the string that held his bells and began forming his hair into its usual spikes. He'd been wearing his hair either down or in a ponytail through his week of bed rest. He was just fixing the last bell in its place when Unohana quietly entered with his last breakfast for his stay.

"Good morning, Kenpachi-kun," the name still made her blush, "I have a very special breakfast for you this morning." She said as the tray was settled in his lap.

As he stared at the sweet smelling dish he couldn't help but ask, "What is it?"

With a cheerful smile, Unohana explained, "It's a dish that one of my men learned how to make while staying in the living world. He said it's very popular in western civilization. It's called "Pancakes with Syrup."" She beamed.

Kenpachi was a little hesitant to try it as he'd never seen anything like it before, but decided that he didn't want to hurt Unohana's feelings when she seemed so happy. He carefully cut a small piece out of one of the fluffy circles and placed it in his mouth only to find that he enjoyed the taste very much! When he had finished his meal he couldn't recall ever having a more pleasant breakfast. "That was wonderful, Unohana. Who cooked that?"

"I did," she beamed. "I'm very glad you enjoyed it so much." Then there was a silent pause between the two. "I suppose once I get your discharge papers ready you'll be free to go." She said with a warm yet sad smile as she took the tray and left the room.

'I don't want her to be sad, but I can't continue to stay here and act like this. The sooner I leave the better.' Kenpachi thought as he stood and began dressing in his Captains robes.

Unohana was sitting in her office reluctantly filling out Kenpachi's discharge papers for the records when she heard a knock at her door and called "Enter."

She looked up to see the massive form that was Kenpachi filling her doorway. He was already dressed in his normal robes again, and as Unohana noticed, he was much more intimidating in his usual attire with his normal hairstyle than he was in the white hospital robes with his hair down framing his face.

"Come in Kenpachi-san. I'm almost done filling out your papers which you only have to sign and you'll be free to return to your more rowdy division. I'm sure they're ready to see their Captain again." Unohana said with her normal warm smile that she was partially forcing.

"Where do I sign?"

"On this bottom line here…" Unohana said as she pointed to the proper area.

After he signed the papers he stood at his full height looking down at the fourth division Captain in an awkward silence. Both sat looking each other in the eye, as if waiting to hear "Don't go." Or "I want to stay." But the words never came. Kenpachi merely bowed his head in a silent thank you, turned on his heels, and proceeded to walk out her door and close it behind him.

With a small sigh, Unohana filed the papers away and decided to continue about her day, but felt as though something was missing. She would sigh every time she passed by the now open room which Kenpachi had occupied for that brief and surprising week. She thought back to how much they had shared and was still amazed at how easy he had been to talk to and how open he had been with her.

Kenpachi arrived at the front door of his division that afternoon and just as he opened the door a pink blur attached itself to his chest, nearly knocking him down. He merely patted Yachiru on the head as she continued to squeal about her 'Ken-chan' being back. With all of the commotion it wasn't long before the rest of the squad also showed up to welcome back their Captain.

After hearing a few suggestions of taking the rest of the day to have a party in celebration of his return, Kenpachi yelled "Get back to work you slackers! Anyone caught slacking off has to spar one-on-one with me!" And with that everyone but Yachiru, Ikkaku, and Yumichika scattered. They didn't have any desire to fight their Captain now that he was back to his frighteningly strong self.

"Welcome back, Captain. You're looking very well rested, I must say. But you will need much more rest if you are to be as beautiful as I." Yumichika said as he flipped his hair.

"Quit being so damn fruity and go train. Both of you. NOW!" Kenpachi yelled. 'It feels good to be back to normal.' He thought with his fang-like smile. "Did these weaklings actually train while I was away, Yachiru?"

"Yep, yep! I made sure they trained REALLY hard." She said as she proudly lifted he head and smiled. "Some of them are even LOTS stronger now!"

"Good. There's no room here for wimps. If you did such a good job maybe one day you could take over as Captain if I actually kick the bucket." Kenpachi joked.

"WWAAAA!! No, Ken-chan! You just got out of the hospital. You're not allowed to joke like that!" Yachiru scolded with one hand on her hip and a finger waving at his face. She was just so serious he couldn't help but laugh.

The next couple of weeks passed without anything interesting. Kenpachi attended the weekly Captain's meeting where he would see Unohana and she would only smile at him and go back to whatever she was doing. Even though he didn't see her nearly as much he noticed that he still got knots in his stomach when she smiled at him…and it irked him to no end. He would train with Ikkaku every now and then because Ikkaku was usually looking for a fight as bad as he was. A small group of Hollow had only attacked once in the entire two weeks and with nothing to do Kenpachi was losing his mind.

Speaking of his mind, he continued to have the dreams in the darkness of his mind where he would talk with the girl or protect her when she was scared of the demons lurking in the darkness. He apparently STILL hadn't remembered what he didn't even know he'd forgotten and this was just one more thing that added to his growing ire.

"Ken-chaaaaann!" Yachiru called as she waved her hand in front of her distracted Captain's face. "Hello? Do I need to take you to see Unohana-san again?"

The mention of Unohana's name caught his attention. "Huh? What?"

"I think you miss Unohana-san." Yachiru teased as she put a finger to her lips. "Why don't you go see her? I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"No. Now get back to work. Now that you don't doodle on your paperwork anymore you have to do your own." Kenpachi said as he tried to return to his own work lying scattered on his desk.

"Oh foo! I'll do it later. I'm talking to you right now." She pouted as she heaved herself up to sit on the corner of Kenpachi's desk. "I know that you and Unohana-san talked while you were there. You must have sort of been friends." She said as she paused and watch as Kenpachi almost completely ignored her to review some papers lying in a pile. "I personally think a girlfriend would be good for Ken-chan." Yachiru mused not-so-discretely to herself as she kicked her legs back and forth, still seated on his desk.

"I don't need a girlfriend. Or any woman. Now get back to work."

"If you don't need ANY woman I'll just leave then!" Yachiru yelled in a huff as she leapt from the window.

A very confused Kenpachi slammed his head down on his mountain of paperwork. "Damn hormones. I almost wish she would have stayed little." Knowing that he had to go find his Lieutenant-slash-daughter, Kenpachi slowly stood and started walking through the white streets calling Yachiru's name. He'd started with the thirteenth division asking if they'd seen her and decided to make his way down the line.

As he stood outside the fourth division building he thought 'She wouldn't have?...would she?' Despite the eye patch, he wasn't blind. He knew Yachiru had been trying to get him to come over here for at least a week now. Sighing yet again, he opened the doors and started walking down a hallway calling Yachiru's name and asking people if they'd seen her. He finally ran across Isane and asked, "Oi, you seen Yachiru around here?"

To which the nervous Lieutenant pointed down the hall. "Captain Unohana's office." And then she scurried off to continue with her work.

Kenpachi contemplated leaving Yachiru there. 'She has to come back sometime.' He thought. But in the end he decided that if he wanted this to blow over as soon as possible he should go and try to make peace with her. He knocked on the door and heard Yachiru's voice call "This is a Ken-chan free zone!" Then she and Unohana started to giggle.

Sliding the door open in frustration, Kenpachi walked over to his Lieutenant and said "Come on. Let's go."

"Nuh-uh. You were mean. You have to make it up somehow first." She said in a mock pout as she crossed her arms and turner her head away.

With a sigh of defeat in knowing that he wouldn't be able to settle this later, Kenpachi started to wrack his brain on ways to appease the pink-haired monster. Then it hit him. "You haven't destroyed anything in a while...I guess it's about time for a vacation." He said with a playful smile.

Yachiru instantly turned around and looked up at him; her eye's shining brightly with excitement. "Ken-chan! You mean it?! Really?!"

He nodded in response. "Only if you forgive me."

"Done and done!" She shouted as she jumped up out of her chair. "Wait…only if Unohana-san can come too." Yachiru said as she tried to haggle with the stubborn Captain.

"I don't know…" Kenpachi said hesitantly. He didn't know if he could be around Unohana that long or not.

"Then no deal." She said crossing her arms and plopping back down in her chair.

In one final sigh of defeat, Kenpachi hung his head and said "Fine. I'll start the paperwork to get clearance later today."

"Ummm, I'm sorry," Unohana said, finally speaking up. "But where will I be going?"

"To the living world to visit Icchy!" Yachiru cheered.

A/N:  
Yay for more filler haha. Well, I revealed some of Unohana's past, but I'm not gonna say that's all. Everyone has things they keep to themselves. I'm keeping Ken-chan's past still a mystery for now. But it should come up in…uhhh…three or four chapters. I already have the next two planned out though so don't look for anything that soon. Next chapter will mainly be about their trip to the living world; we'll get to check and see what Ichigo and Orihime have been up to, do a little karaoke, and watch some romantic developments so stay tuned! And thank you to all who have reviewed! It makes me very happy to hear from you!!

PS--IMPORTANT: I've started two part-time jobs. Together they have me working 7 days a week. One job from 9-5:30 and the other from 8-6:30 (needless to say I'm dead-fucking-tired). The longer one is at a kennel in a local vet's office so I almost constantly smell like cats, dogs, 3 kinds of dog shampoo, and bleach...ugh...anyway, until things settle down I have almost no time to write. Do not fear though, because I already have the next 3 chapters written I'll be posting those one every friday. But after those run out if things are still crazy it's probably safe to assume that updates will be sporadic. Sorry for any future inconvenience!

TTFNFWA


	5. Heartstrings

Chapter five: Heartstrings

Two days after Kenpachi had put in the papers for his, Yachiru's, and Unohana's clearance to the living world he was contacted with the message that the gate would be opened for them that afternoon. Ichigo had already been contacted and they would be staying at his house over night. Urahara Kisuke had also been contacted so that they would each have a gigai waiting at his shop.

As they passed through the gate, each carrying their own pack for the trip, Unohana suddenly felt very nervous. It had been a very long time since she'd gone to the living world. 'What am I doing here? Did Yachiru ask me to go or did Kenpachi?' She thought as she stole a quick glance at the incredibly tall Captain. But in her quick glance she noticed that he was looking at her from the corner of his eye as well.

The eye contact was broken almost as quickly as it was made. 'What the hell has Yachiru done? We've been to this world before, but I have a feeling a lot has changed since Unohana was last here.' Kenpachi thought as he and his small group walked through the dark tunnel to their destination. 'Not to mention the fact that we'll be staying in the same house tonight. Damn, damn, damn, damn, damn…' Kenpachi repeated over and over again in his head as he waited to step into the light of the living world.

They had been able to step into the living world only a block or so from Urahara's place. Walking the path that they'd taken a few times in the past, Yachiru and Kenpachi were completely at ease as cars drove by and planes flew overhead. Unohana on the other hand had heard of them but never seen them in person…or imagined how loud they could be. She subconsciously walked a little closer to Kenpachi so as not to get separated from him and his Lieutenant.

The closeness that Kenpachi was sharing with Unohana caused him to blush. 'Why can't I just push her away and tell her to grow some backbone like I would anyone else? Damn, damn, damn, damn…' his inner chanting picked up again as they stepped into the lot that contained the small store owned by Urahara.

"Kenpachi-san!" Urahara shouted in greeting as he opened the front door for them. "How was your trip? Smooth sailing I hope. Well I have your gigai in the back; same place as always. Your usual attire is also in the closet." He pointed as Kenpachi rolled his eyes and went into the back room with Yachiru. "And Captain Unohana, it has been quite a while hasn't it?" Urahara asked as he removed his hat, bowed, and kissed the back of her hand. "A pleasure as always. I have your gigai right over here in this room. I think I did a rather good job on this one, but did not know what kind of clothes you would like. I have an assortment of styles in one of the closets of the back room. Choose whatever you would like."

Unohana watched as Yachiru appeared from the back room first. She was stretching out the unused faux body to work a few of the kinks out when she saw the surprised look Unohana was giving her. "What?"

Unohana couldn't help but stare at the clothes that Yachiru was wearing. For a very traditional woman like Unohana, it was almost inconceivable that young ladies would be permitted to dress as such. Yachiru's bubble gum pink hair remained the same as well as her eyes, but she was wearing a skirt that showed off far too much skin in Unohana's opinion. It was a black skirt with a long sleeved pink t-shirt and a white belt. Her feet were adorned with large, black combat boots. "I…I just…well, Kenpachi-san, does Yachiru usually wear such…revealing clothing?"

"I let the kid wear what she wants. It's easier to let her do what she wants." Kenpachi answered as he emerged from behind Yachiru to lay a large hand on top of his Lieutenant's head and grinned down at her. "Ain't that right, brat?"

"That's right, Ken-chan! I'm as tamable as the wind! Right?" Yachiru giggled as she tugged on Kenpachi's arm.

"Yep; hella-hard telling her what to do. I gave up a long time ago." Then Kenpachi and Yachiru proceeded to laugh and play fight to help stretch their temporary muscles.

The entire time Unohana could only gape at Kenpachi's choice of clothing. 'No wonder he doesn't see anything wrong with what Yachiru wears…' She thought with a blush. Kenpachi was dressed in a pair of leather pants, a white dress shirt that only had the bottom half buttoned leaving his bare chest exposed, and a leather jacket. His shoes were similar to Yachiru's only didn't go as high on his leg.

"Well, if you two will help Unohana-san here get ready, I really must be going." Urahara said. "I have a trip planned and am already late as it is. Have a pleasant stay and just leave the gigai where I had them when you leave tomorrow!" He called as he walked out the door.

"Come on Unohana-san! I'll help you get ready!" Yachiru said in an excited voice as she dragged Unohana into the back room. "You stay out there Ken-chan! This is girls only. And NO peeping!"

"Like I would…" Kenpachi mumbled as he leaned against a nearby wall and waited.

It took a while but Yachiru finally opened the door again to say "Presenting the new, living world version of Captain Unohana Retsu!" She then proceeded to step away from the doorway and Unohana nervously stepped through, blushing furiously and tugging at her clothes.

"I don't know Yachiru…I'm not sure this is me. What do you think Kenpachi-san?" Unohana asked as her blush deepened.

Kenpachi was silent at first as his eyes drank it the picture before him. Unohana was standing in the doorway wearing a pale lavender sundress that came up to about mid-thigh, a pair of light gray sandals, and had her hair out of its usual braid with half of it down and half pulled up into a bun behind her head. He wasn't sure what to say. She was stunning, with her nervous blush making her all the more charming, but he didn't know if he wanted to say that out loud.

As Kenpachi was battling with himself internally, Unohana took his silent stare as a bad sign and turned around saying, "Okay, I'm going to find something else a little more modest to wear—" but stopped when she felt a hand on her wrist. Kenpachi was standing above her, still holding her hand as he said,

"No. This is fine. Let's go." He then proceeded to let go of her and walk outside to wait in the fresh air for his two female companions. 'I can handle this. The dress was nice, but not THAT nice. Unohana has great legs…STOP THAT! No more thinking like that. I was supposed to get over this weeks ago. None of this is helping…damn, damn, damn, damn, damn, who knew Retsu had curves…DAMN, damn, damn, damn…' Kenpachi's inner monologue raged as he picked up a rock and threw it as far as he could…he didn't ever hear it land.

~*~*~*~

Ichigo was pacing in his living room as he and Orihime waited on Kenpachi arrived. Despite the two men swearing to Yamamoto that they would under no circumstances fight each other in the living world, Kenpachi and that toothy grin of his always made Ichigo nervous as hell. He was so deep in thought about Kenpachi coming over that when the doorbell rang he tripped and fell face first to the floor.

Orihime just sighed and shook her head with a smile as she stood up from the couch saying "I'll answer it. You just calm down, Kurosaki-kun."

As Ichigo seated himself in a nearby chair he couldn't help but smile at how even after all their time as a couple she still called him "Kurosaki-kun."

"Icchy! It's too bad you and Ken-chan can't fight here cause I know he misses your fights you used to have." Yachiru said with a smile as she bounced into the room.

She was followed by Kenpachi who gave his usual grin and said, "Ichigo, when are you going to come see us in Soul Society? We'd be able to spar all we wanted to there."

'Never.' Thought Ichigo, but he said, "I'm not sure. I usually only come if the old man tells me I have to." Ichigo had been made an official shinigami who resided in the living world to keep a watch over the spiritually active town. He even received pay from Soul Society like a normal officer. It was sent through Urahara who was able to exchange the amount for living world currency.

"Oh! Captain Unohana! I didn't know you were coming too." Ichigo could hear Orihime say from the door.

Looking at Kenpachi, Ichigo asked, "Why is Unohana-sama here?"

"Don't look at me. The kid invited her."

"Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said gaining the attention of the others in the room. "Look at how pretty Captain Unohana is in her dress! We should all go out somewhere to celebrate her coming to visit us!" She cheered as she bounced and clapped her hands together.

"Fine, it really doesn't matter to me. What do you guys want to do?" Ichigo asked indifferent about the entire matter.

"Karaoke bar!" Yachiru shouted.

"That's a wonderful idea Yachiru-chan!"

"It's decided then," Yachiru announced. "Let's go everybody!" And everyone walked out the door.

~*~*~*~

As the hodge-podge group walked down the street Kenpachi and Ichigo started arguing about something or another and, ever the motherly figure, Unohana decided that she needed to walk between the two men that were currently behaving like children.

Yachiru had pulled Orihime back a few steps so that they could talk in private. "So Orihime-chan, what do you think about Unohana-san?"

"I don't know her very well but she seems very nice and is looking very beautiful this evening. Why?"

"Well, I meant more what do you think of Unohana-san and Ken-chan? You know, together??" Yachiru asked putting some emphasis on the 'together' part.

Not quite understanding at first, Orihime looked ahead and watched as Captain Unohana looked at Captain Zaraki and said something that made him look down at her and laugh a little as a barely visible blush crossed both their faces. "OH! You mean together like THAT. Well they seem completely different, but seem to be getting along well." Orihime answered with a smile.

"Well I think it's high time Ken-chan got a girlfriend. I've never seen him have much interest in women but I think Unohana-san would be a good match for him." Yachiru also knew that if Kenpachi was distracted with his own love life he wouldn't put hers on a screeching halt.

"I never knew Kenpachi-san knew Unohana-sama that well. They don't seem like the type to be friends." Orihime said, interrupting Yachiru's thoughts.

On the rest of the way to their destination, Yachiru briefly explained what had happened to bring the two Captains closer. "Well, Yachiru-chan, if there's anything I can do to help you just let me know!" Orihime offered as she held up a fist and put on a very serious look.

"I was hoping you would say that! You'll see my plan at the karaoke bar." Yachiru winked as she ran forward and leaped onto Kenpachi's back giggling.

~*~*~*~

Once they had arrived at the karaoke bar and gotten a table, they ordered some drinks and a few snacks as Yachiru ran off somewhere. She returned a few minutes later with a small pager looking thing. As time went by everyone made small talk and just talked amongst themselves. Kenpachi was passing the time giving a death glare to any guy that looked Yachiru's way and Unohana was trying to calm him down.

Suddenly the pager Yachiru had come back with earlier started lighting up signaling that she was to go on after the current song went off. "Come on Orihime! We're singing as a duet." Yachiru chirped as she grabbed the other girl's hand and dragged her away towards the stage.

"Yachiru-chan! I don't know many songs…what are we supposed to be singing?"

"Do you remember when you got me to watch The Little Mermaid with you that one time?" Thinking for a moment Orihime nodded. "Just watch the lyrics screen. I'm sure you'll recognize the music." And with that the current music ended and the two girls ran up on stage as the lights dimmed with a little more emphasis on blue tones around the room, as was requested by Yachiru herself.

Kenpachi and Unohana sat on one side of the table by themselves as Ichigo was on the opposite side, turned around in his chair to watch Orihime up on stage. The lights dimmed, the music started up, and the girls started to sing…

There you see her  
Sitting there across the way  
She don't got a lot to say  
But there's something about her  
And you don't know why  
But you're dying to try  
You wanna kiss the girl.

Stealing a quick glance from the corner of his eye, Kenpachi saw Unohana watching the girls as she herself was bathed in a pale blue light making her take on a delicate and beautiful look. Clearing his throat, he turned back to look at the stage.

Yes, you want her  
Look at her, you know you do  
It's possible she wants you too  
There's one way to ask her  
It don't take a word, not a single word  
Go on and kiss the girl (kiss the girl)

Shalalalalala  
My oh my  
Looks like the boy's too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Shalalalalala  
Ain't that sad  
It's such a shame  
Too bad, you're gonna miss the girl  
Go on and kiss the girl (kiss the girl)

'This song is oddly fitting…' Unohana thought. 'Wait! No! I don't want him to kiss me…do I?' and she looked up at the rough Captain to find that he looked very handsome in the romantic lighting. 'I think I might…'

Now's your moment  
Floating in a blue lagoon  
Boy, you better do it soon  
No time will be better  
She don't say a word  
And she won't say a word  
Until you kiss the girl (kiss the girl)

'Kiss her already dammit!' Yachiru yelled at Kenpachi in her head. She was convinced that once they kissed they would see how right they were for each other.

Shalalalalala  
My oh my  
Looks like the boy's too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Shalalalalala  
Ain't that sad  
It's such a shame  
Too bad, you're gonna miss the girl

Shalalalalala  
Don't be scared  
You better be prepared  
Go on and kiss the girl  
Shalalalalala  
Don't stop now  
Don't try to hide it how  
You wanna kiss the girl  
Go on and kiss the girl  
(kiss the girl)  
(oh, ohooooo…)  
(kiss the girl, kiss the girl)  
Lalalala, lalalala  
Go on and kiss the girl  
Lalalala, lalalala  
Go on and kiss the girl

Unohana once again tried to steal a look at Kenpachi but found that he was already looking at her. Once their eyes met it was almost like they were magnetized to each other. Both felt compelled to look away in embarrassment of being caught, but they stayed like that; gazing into each others eyes, not even blinking for fear of breaking the moment.

Shalalalalala  
My oh myyyy  
Looks like the boy's too shy  
Ain't gonna kiss the girl  
Shalalalalala  
Ain't that sad  
It's such a shame  
Too bad, you're gonna miss the girl

Kenpachi closed his eyes and slowly leaned down to rest his forehead against Unohana's where he slowly opened his eyes to be transfixed with her stare yet again. "K-Kenpachi-kun…" Unohana breathed as she felt her pulse pick up and the blood rush to her face.

Lalalala, lalalala  
(Go on and kiss the girl)  
Go on and kiss that girl!  
Lalalala, lalalala  
(Go on and kiss the girl)  
Go on and kiss the girl  
Kiss the girl  
(Kiss the girl)  
Go on and kiss the girl

"Retsu…" Kenpachi sighed in a husky voice as the song ended. Their mouths couldn't have been more than an inch apart and the distance was closing. All the while Yachiru was cheering in her head as she and Orihime made their way back to the table, 'Go, Ken-chan, go!'

Suddenly…the horrible screeching of Ichigo's shinigami badge went off scaring everyone that could hear it half to death and breaking the magic that had almost led to exactly what Yachiru was planning for her guardian.

Ichigo sighed, "Why does a Hollow have to show up just when I thought I was going to get a night off?" The group got up and ran out the door to locate the monster and hopefully take it out fairly quickly.

Yachiru's mind was a very violent place at that moment. 'DAMN IT TO A BLOODY, PUS SPEWING HELL!!! I was THIS close. This goddamn, bloody, fucking close! Where the hell is that Hollow? I'm going to send it where it belongs…' Yachiru thought morbidly. She wasn't phased one bit by the strings of curses her mind let loose. She'd picked up quite the colorful vocabulary being raised around a bunch of fight-crazed men.

As they spotted the Hollow making it's way through a nearby park, Ichigo was about to use his badge to exit his body when Yachiru stormed past him, grabbed the badge on the way, used it herself, and took off leaving her body in the middle of the road.

Kenpachi grabbed up the faux body and everyone else followed her into the park. When they found her, her spirit force was swirling in a pink fire around her. It was obvious that she was angry about something, but most were completely oblivious at to exactly WHAT had made her this upset.

Marching straight up to the lower-level Hollow, Yachiru fearlessly swung her zanpakutou down across its mask. As it dissipated into the air, she climbed back into her body and promptly announced that she wanted to go home for the evening.

~*~*~*~

They had walked Orihime home and Kenpachi couldn't help but notice that Yachiru just happened to be looking the exact opposite direction as Ichigo told his fiancé goodnight and gave her a kiss. He knew that Yachiru didn't hold a grudge or anything against Orihime, she actually liked her very much. She was just a little jealous.

(Quick timeline A/N: remember, it's a few years later. Ichigo and Orihime are now University students and after dating for a while, Ichigo has asked Orihime to marry him. Now back to the story…)

Once they the group of shinigami arrived back at the Kurosaki household, Ichigo walked in and called, "Karin, Yuzu? Are you back from your movie yet?"

"Hai, Ichi-nii," said Yuzu as she popped her head out of the kitchen. "Oh! I didn't realize we had company. Yachiru-chan? It's been such a long time! How have you been?" Yuzu asked when she recognized the pink hair. On her few trips to see Ichigo, Yachiru had gotten to know his sisters as well and they treated her like a normal human.

'I've been better…' She thought with an annoyed tone, but put on a smile and answered "Fine. How have you been? It has been a long time. Maybe we could catch up on things tomorrow."

"That sounds wonderful! I'll be sure to prepare a special breakfast in the morning. Ichi-nii, where should I make up the beds for our guests?"

As Ichigo was thinking about it he saw Yuzu trying to hide a yawn. "Yuzu, you go on to bed. I'll find places for them to sleep for tonight. No arguments."

Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get her brother to change his mind, Yuzu hugged him goodnight and bowed her farewells to the rest of the group before heading upstairs to get some sleep.

"Well, the old man went somewhere with Urahara," Ichigo said rubbing the back of his head. "I guess a couple of you could take his room and the other can go in the guest room. Come on, I'll show ya the way." Then he walked down the hall to set everything up so that he could get some sleep after he showed them where to sleep for the night. "I'll let you guys decide who sleeps where, but Dad's room is at the end of the hall and the guest room is the last door on the right. Well, G'night." Ichigo said over his shoulder as he walked back up the hallway so he could go upstairs to his room.

Upon looking in both rooms, Kenpachi turned and said "I'll sleep in the guest room cause the bed's smaller. See you two in the morning." Then he closed the door immediately behind him so he wouldn't have to make eye contact with Unohana. He was actually still VERY embarrassed about what almost happened earlier. He might have felt a little more at ease if he'd known what Unohana thought about everything, but he'd die before he ever asked.

With the door closed in their faces, Yachiru grabbed Unohana's hand and pulled her back to where they would be sleeping. "It's almost like a sleepover, isn't it?? I've never had one though. Come to think of it, I don't have many friends that are girls!" Yachiru giggled as she hopped around the room.

"You should probably calm down, Yachiru." Unohana chided in a motherly way. "You don't want to wake everyone else in the house."

"Okay, I know what Ken-chan is like when you wake him up…it's not fun." She agreed with a smile. They both then started getting dressed for bed when Yachiru observed, "You have such pretty hair, Unohana-san. It's long and dark and reminds me of Ken-chan's hair!"

With a small laugh, Unohana replied, "Well thank you, Yachiru. I think your hair is a very pretty color too."

"What do you think of Ken-chan's hair?" She asked innocently.

"He has very nice hair, even if he does style it in a peculiar way." She said with a small smile.

"Well what do you think of Ken-chan?" This time Yachiru's voice held a bit of mischief.

"He's very strong and very stubborn, but I don't think he's half as mean as everyone thinks he is." Unohana said sitting in the middle of the bed.

"So you're not scared of him?" Yachiru asked as she sat down and laid her head in Unohana's lap looking up expectantly at her.

"No, I am not scared of him. I am scared for him though." Unohana answered as she began to run her fingers through Yachiru's hair in a calming manner.

"Why? What are you scared for?" Yachiru said with a large yawn.

"I suppose I'm scared of what his recent dreams might be doing to him…or what might happen to his mind in the future."

"He doesn't tell me much about his dreams," Yachiru said in a drowsy voice; it was clear that she was fading away. "I'm sure Unohana-san can help him though…and he would let her…because he likes you…" and she was gone, leaving Unohana to blush and wonder what she meant.

~*~*~*~

Kenpachi had been rummaging through the bag he brought for something to sleep in, but came across Yachiru's slippers along the way. "Kid needs to learn to put stuff in her own bag." He grumbled as he headed next door to give her the small, pink, fuzzy abominations.

"Yo, Yachiru, here's your damn slippers…" Kenpachi said as he opened the door to the room she was sharing with Unohana only to find his Lieutenant passed out in the lap of Captain Unohana. He couldn't help but let a soft smile cross his features as he walked across to the bed to sit down on it and watch his friend sleep. "Sometimes I like her better when she's not moving or talking."

Unohana laughed at the loving joke and looked up a Kenpachi. "You've done a wonderful job raising her. Especially all on your own like you have."

"Nah, if I was any kinda "parent" she wouldn't be so wild. All I did was toss her clean clothes, some food, and make sure she didn't die. She's like that on her own."

"That sounds like parenting to me." Unohana said with a knowing smile. She knew very well how much the large Captain cared for the small girl. It had been evident the first time he'd brought her in sick or when he'd brought her to Unohana when Yachiru 'became a woman' so to speak. She almost laughed at the memory of a flustered Kenpachi, him not knowing what to do and clearly not wanting to talk about it.

"Well I think we're just a couple of self-named outcasts that helped carve a place for one another."

"Oh, and speaking of not having names, how is the girl from your dreams? Have you remembered anything yet?"

"Nada; she just runs around playing with this stupid cabbage butterfly all the time…or cries."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out soon." Unohana reassured with a warm smile then turned her attention back to the sleeping, pink-haired girl. "Could you help me move her? I'm sure we're both ready for some sleep."

"Sure." And as if she didn't weigh anything at all, Kenpachi gently lifted Yachiru and tucked her under the sheets just as he had done many times before when she was much smaller.

"Goodnight, Kenpachi-kun." Unohana bid with a gentle smile and a light blush.

"Goodnight, Unohana-chan." Then, hesitating for a moment, Kenpachi leaned down a placed a quick peck on her forehead. He made eye contact when he stood back up, but was met with a dumbstruck Captain to which he decided to make a hasty retreat back to his room.

~*~*~*~

As the eleventh division Captain walked through the continuous darkness he dreaded finding the small, green girl. 'She's going to give me hell about what just happened…' he thought.

When he drew closer to where he knew the circle of light to usually be he saw that it had gone from an innocent white to an angry red and a different girl stood in the circle. She appeared to be in her late teens with black hair and blood red eyes. Her clothes looked as tattered and worn as the green child's, but this girl also wielded a sword. It was battle worn, being almost as chipped as his was, and was smeared with the blood of what Kenpachi assumed to be the dead demons that he now saw the outline of behind her.

"Oi, where's the kid? Who the hell are you?" Kenpachi asked, hoping that the child hadn't been killed along with the demons.

"My name doesn't matter to you Zaraki Kenpachi," the girl answered, saying his name as if it was dripping with poison. "And the young girl you've grown so fond of is safe…for now. You will leave this place the way you came. I will not allow you to harm that child."

"The hell I'll leave. What's going on here?" Kenpachi didn't like the feeling he was getting from this girl.

"You WILL leave NOW!" The girl commanded. "Even if I have to force you out or kill you." And with that she took a stance, waiting to see what choice Kenpachi would make.

"Whatever you say, kid," Kenpachi said as he too readied his sword. "But just to remind you, you're in my mind and if I die you'll disappear along with the girl."

"If that's what it takes to keep her from getting hurt, then so be it." And the girl charged toward Kenpachi.

He couldn't believe it. This girl was going to attack him from the front. 'Her death wish.' He thought with an evil grin. But just as it looked like she was about to attack him she disappeared in a blur only to reappear behind him just as quickly to create a deep gash across his back. And before Kenpachi could turn around she'd disappeared again into the shadows. "I told you Zaraki. Facing me now will cost you your life."

Slowly Kenpachi started to laugh. "You kidding? This is just the way I like it!" For the first time in a while, Kenpachi was having fun in a fight. As he concentrated into the dark he felt a breeze on his left and guessed that she was going to try to attack from his right…he was right. Just before she made contact he swiftly brought his sword down on her shoulder and across her chest.

Screeching out her pain, the girl slid to a halt holding her shoulder as the wound bled profusely. "Fine, I didn't want to do this, but if it's what it takes to win I'll gladly do it." The girl closed her eyes as her body took on a red glow and she started walking toward him.

Kenpachi could feel his body go completely rigid. It felt as though steel bands had been wrapped around him, immobilizing his arms and legs. "What the hell kind of trick is this?!"

"It's not a trick, Zaraki." Her voice echoed. "You merely haven't figured out how the physics of this world work yet…and it will be your downfall." She swung her sword down across his chest leaving a deep gash. "You created her," another gash was made. "You protected her," and another. "You FORGOT her," and another. "And now you've brought her back only to hurt her! You are UNFORGIVABLE!" Kenpachi could feel it getting harder to breathe and knew if he couldn't do something it was very possible that this would be it. Just as the girl was about to land her final blow…he vanished.

~*~*~*~

A/N:  
ohhhhh…so what happened? Guesses, guesses anyone? It will all be revealed in the next chapter! This one was longer than I expected it to be. In the next chapter we'll find out what happened to Ken-chan, and a couple of other things are gonna happen so please come back ^_^ hope you enjoyed and as always I'd love to hear what you think! And just to clear things up in case it wasn't clear, they did NOT kiss. My mind was yelling at my fingers to stop writing what they were writing and even I got angry about it haha so please don't hate me! And as I was proofing this (again) I realized that the part about when Yachiru 'became a woman' could be taken two ways…so just to clarify I was talking about her first period. Also, everyone can give a big thanks to Jade for this chapter. There's been a lot going on in my life recently and her review made me realize that I needed to at least give you guys what I have written. So thank you, Jade, for getting me back on track with my writing =]

TTFN~CI


	6. Escape

Chapter six: Escape

"You are UNFORGIVABLE!" Kenpachi could feel it getting harder to breathe and knew if he couldn't do something it was very possible that this would be it. Just as the girl was about to land her final blow…he vanished.

~*~*~*~

Unohana was awakened to the sound of something rustling. She looked beside her to see Yachiru sleeping soundly as she drooled on her pillow. 'Where is that coming from?' She thought as she went to investigate. When she opened the bedroom door she could hear the rustling become louder. She took a few steps and realized that it was loudest just outside of Kenpachi's room. Knocking gently on the door, Unohana called "Kenpachi-san? Are you alright?"

She got no answer.

Deciding to just peek in and make sure everything was okay Unohana was met with an incredible burst of spirit energy. The scene she was faced with was one of the most frightening she'd seen in a while. Kenpachi laid thrashing wildly on the bed as blood collected, staining the sheets a deep crimson. "Kenpachi-kun!" Unohana called as she ran forward, resting her hands on his face to try and calm him only to be met with sparks as if being shocked. She could feel the tears welling in her eyes from feeling completely useless as another gash appeared on his body.

Running back to her room, Unohana shook Yachiru awake saying, "Yachiru, please come quickly! Kenpachi-kun is in trouble and I need you to help me hold him down."

The normally slow-to-wake Lieutenant was awake in record time at hearing that her Captain was in danger. They ran to his room to see the thrashing had calmed down a bit, but not by much. By this time the immense spirit energy had woken up Ichigo and his younger sister Karin who were now both trying to help Unohana and Yachiru hold the large man as still as they could.

Because she knew it to be very dangerous to a patients psyche, Unohana had never attempted what she was about to do but knew it could potentially be fatal if she didn't. Despite the great shock that ran through her, she placed her hands on either side of Kenpachi's head and used her healing powers to search his mind in hopes of forcibly pulling him out of the violent dreamscape.

Once she found what she recognized as his spirit energy in a concentrated point, she pulled as hard as she could to bring him back to consciousness. His thrashing suddenly stopped, but his eyes didn't open. His breathing was labored and his heart rate was shallow and becoming slower. There were several gashes over his body that needed emergency treatment as soon as possible, but all Unohana could do was slowly try to close up the wounds to a non-critical point. When some of the deeper cuts were partially closed and slowed in bleeding, Ichigo tossed his spirit badge to Unohana and Yachiru so they could leave their gigai and take the unconscious Captain back to Soul Society.

While Unohana had tried to slow the bleeding, Yachiru had contacted Soul Society via her communication device to tell them they had a member in potentially critical condition and requested an immediate opening of the gateway back to their home. "Yachiru, can you carry him? I'm going to go ahead and try to prepare for him as much as possible." With a confirming pink nod, Unohana turned to Ichigo, bowed, and said "I deeply apologize," before taking off with flash steps to her division in Soul Society, Yachiru only a few steps behind her.

~*~*~*~

While Kenpachi and Unohana were sorting through new feelings as they listened to Yachiru and Orihime in the living world, masked figures hidden in the shadows of Soul Society crept into the third and ninth division holding cells unnoticed. Three of the silent figures appeared outside the cell of former third division Captain, Ichimaru Gin. "Sir, we've come to liberate you if you will help lead us in our cause along with former Captain Tousen Kaname."

With the light rattle of chains, the ever smiling Ichimaru stepped from the shadows. Upon his and Tousen's capture, they'd been put into holding cells and bound in shackles to repress any spirit energy. "And what is it that ya'll might be doin'?"

~*~*~*~

The next morning, Kenpachi awoke to find himself lying with his head in a sleeping Unohana's lap. He glanced to his left and could see Yachiru, Ikkaku, and Yumichika also asleep on either the floor or in chairs in what appeared to be another room of the fourth division building. When he tried to move he was reminded of the fight he had in his dream the night before. With a groan Kenpachi complained, "Damn kid cheated…using damn tricks…"

The noise woke up his subordinates, but Unohana remained asleep in her sitting position behind him. "Ken-chan!" Yachiru cheered as she appeared at his side. "You have to stop making us worry like that!" She scolded.

"Yes, Captain, you need to be much more careful. If you spend much more time here they're going to start putting a room on reserve for you." Yumichika chimed in as he stretched. He and Ikkaku had been waiting to help carry their Captain to the fourth division when Yachiru had emerged with him from the gate.

"Pay up Yumi, he lived." Ikkaku said as he finally stood up.

"Glad to see someone can at least make some money off my fights." Kenpachi said as he rolled his eyes. "Did you knuckleheads help patch me up?"

"Yes sir!" They answered in unison with a salute.

"Thanks." He said in his normal gruff tone.

"The person you should really be thanking is Captain Unohana there." Yumichika added.

"Yea," piped in Ikkaku, "she sat there all night using those healing powers of hers to make sure whatever was in your head didn't come back."

Kenpachi gazed back up at the still sleeping Retsu. 'I'll thank her later…after she gets some sleep.' He thought.

Suddenly a hell butterfly fluttered through the open window and the voice of Chief Commander Genryusai was heard, "All able bodied Captains are to report for an emergency Captain's meeting immediately! Any Captain not able to be in attendance is to send their Lieutenant in their place. That is all."

"You heard him kid, get goin'. And take that Isane girl with you."

"Hai, hai, Ken-chan!" And with that Yachiru was out the door and on her way.

~*~*~*~

"In an unknown way that is still being investigated, several criminals, who we believe to be a group of shinigami deserters, infiltrated the holding cells of Ichimaru Gin and Tousen Kaname. The two traitor's who were apprehended some months ago and were awaiting trial are now missing and in suspected league with the deserters. We have yet to learn what their intentions are, but as of today measures are being taken by the second division squads to track down the enemy's whereabouts. You and your divisions are to be on constant lookout for any suspicious behavior, even amongst yourselves, is that understood?"

A uniform confirmation was given with the exception of the eleventh division Lieutenant who gave a "Hai, hai, Genryusai-dono!"

"Lieutenant Kusajishi, where is your Captain? And Lieutenant Kotetsu, I'm surprised Captain Unohana is also not in attendance."

Stepping forward to explain, Isane said "Captain Genryusai-dono, Captain Zaraki was critically injured in the living world last night and Captain Unohana is currently attending to his injuries."

"Ah yes, I heard about that. On another note, unless under the need of extreme emergency all living world travel will hereby be denied. Dismissed." And with that the Captains and Lieutenants left the meeting hall and went about their day and informing their divisions of the new developments.

~*~*~*~

Back at the fourth division Ikkaku, Yumichika, and Kenpachi were trying to think of a way to get the large and bandaged Captain out of the bed without waking up Unohana. Until Yachiru came in that is. She bounced into the room to find Ikkaku and Yumichika arguing about something, so she left them alone and walked over to the bed to ask "Are you ready to leave now, Ken-chan?" and then lifted him out of the bed effortlessly without disturbing Unohana in the least. "There you go!" She chirped as she set him down.

Yumichika reached over and slapped Ikkaku on the back of his shiny bald head, "You should have thought of that!"

"Thanks kid," Kenpachi said quietly as he picked up Unohana and laid her down in the bed so she would be more comfortable.

Yachiru shushed the two bickering squad members as she pointed to the unfolding scene. Kenpachi was leaned over the bed, his hair down and framing his face, as he tucked in a peacefully sleeping Unohana while the afternoon sunlight streamed in through the window making them both seem to glow. The rough and hardened Kenpachi was looking at the motherly Unohana with an emotion none of his subordinates had ever seen him express before.

"How beautiful…" Yumichika whispered as his eyes sparkled.

"Come on you idiots, let's get back to where we belong." The Captain ordered as he walked out the door with his entourage.

~*~*~*~

Unohana awoke late in the evening. 'How did I get here?' She wondered drowsily as she took in her surroundings being those of one of her division's rooms. As the previous night's events came rushing back to her she sat up looking around for an injured Kenpachi only to find a gift basket containing a wide assortment of teas and a letter sitting in a chair next to the bed she was lying in.

She picked up the letter and used the light from the full moon to read:

Retsu,  
Thanks for the treatment…again. Enjoy your tea.  
--Kenpachi

It was short and to the point, but Unohana couldn't help but smile brightly. Captain Zaraki didn't seem the type to go around handing out gift baskets (or "thank you's" for that matter) so it made her feel special. 'I'll be sure to thank him later.' She thought with a smile as she took the basket and walked home for the evening with a bounce in her step that wasn't there before.

~*~*~*~

"So they got you too eh Kaname?" Ichimaru said with his sly grin.

"If they succeed with their plans we could rebuild Soul Society under the definition of true justice. I will be willing to lay my life down if I must."

"I see yer still playin' that tragic hero part, hmm?"

"The only thing tragic is that you were recruited for this as well." Kaname countered as he walked into forest hide-away of the rebellion army, leaving Ichimaru standing on a hill to look up at the moon alone.

"Justice or no justice, I just wanna be on the side that'll benefit me the most." Ichimaru stated as he continued to look up into the night sky.

~*~*~*~

A/N:  
ooooookay…so I know it's been a while since I updated -.- feel free to throw things at me…I deserve it, especially considering I've had this chapter written for probably a few months now…again, thank you Jade and everyone else who reviewed ^_^ I hope I didn't disappoint too much with the resolution to last chapter's little cliffy. The next chapter should go up soon (provided that I haven't lost my readers during my absence lol). Tiny spoiler for next chapter: the identity of the green girl is finally revealed and there's some Uno/Ken fluff so be sure to come back!! ^_^ I'm tempted to put in a preview for you guys now cause it's by far my favorite chapter yet, but I think I'm gonna hold off since it's probably going up tomorrow. Be sure to bring your tissues boys and girls and I'll see you all tomorrow


	7. Memories

AN: it's a tiny bit later than I said it would be but here it is guys....identity revealed! Please excuse an OOCness as I only thought the reactions fitting...I'll shut up now and let you read ^_^ ENJOY!!

Chapter seven: Memories

The next few days passed quickly. Kenpachi had healed from his wounds and nobody had seen hide-nor-hair of Ichimaru or Tousen. Though the strangest thing was that Kenpachi's dreams of the darkness had stopped. He wasn't sure if it was because of something Unohana had done or if the older, red girl had managed to force him away, but all he knew was that he'd had dreamless nights of sleep ever since his inner battle.

He hadn't seen Unohana since he'd left her sleeping form, because…well…let's face it, the Captain of the eleventh division couldn't be seen hanging around the fourth division unless he was being forced to be there.

He'd also been thinking about their trip to the living world now that he had time. It had been a very close call at the karaoke bar. Much closer than he was comfortable with. Remembering the way she looked at him and said his name at that moment, the way her warm breath felt on his lips…it was enough to drive him mad! It had been a very, VERY long time since he'd been with a woman and he'd forgotten what it could feel like to be that close to someone.

Nothing he did seemed to help ease his frustration with himself. He couldn't even enjoy his better fights when he trained with Ikkaku. At this point he almost wished the rebellion army would show up just so he'd be able to kill something without being reprimanded.

He now sat on top of his division building, watching the sun set over the horizon, and let his thoughts drift to the charming Captain that seemed to occupy most of his thoughts lately. He wondered where she was…what she was doing…but most of all how she'd felt that night in the living world before the Hollow had shown up. Sighing Kenpachi thought, 'She would never be interested in me. I send over half the people she treats for one thing,' and he couldn't help but laugh when he thought of that. 'And she's far too delicate for someone as rough as me…what if I hurt her?'

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Kenpachi decided that it would be best to go to bed and get a good night of dreamless slumber.

~*~*~*~

It was either very late at night or very early in the morning when a soft glow awakened Kenpachi. When he groggily opened his eyes he saw the small green girl that had been in his dreams standing by the side of his bed holding his zanpakutou. "Here, you'll need this soon." She said holding out the chipped sword.

Still being half asleep, he reached out and took it only to close his eyes once more. Then the realization of what had happened set in and he sat up quickly to find the girl gone. Thinking it was nothing more than a dream he looked down to see that he was indeed holding his zanpakutou…and it had a small, green hand print that glowed dimly until it finally disappeared. "'The hell?" He wondered out loud. That's when he heard it; the gentle sliding of a door that wouldn't have even registered had he still been asleep.

When he heard something shifting just outside his bedroom door he got up and swiftly opened it to find one of the ex-shinigami that had supposedly freed Ichimaru and Tousen. Letting out a sadistic chuckle Kenpachi just looked down at his prey and said, "Tonight's just not your night, fella." And swiftly brought his sword at a diagonal across the man's chest, effectively killing him in one shot. "Ahhh, well I feel a little better now." Then he thought about his probably still sleeping Lieutenant. "Yachiru…"

Arriving at the very pink room, Kenpachi threw the door open to find another man like the one that had tried to attack him coming in through a window. Unfortunately when he was spotted, the man made a hasty retreat. After watching the man go, Kenpachi looked down on an unharmed Yachiru. Deciding not to risk anything he picked her up and started carrying her back down the hall.

"W-where?" Mumbled the barely conscious girl.

"Shut-up, you're sleeping in my room tonight; end of discussion."

"M'kay." She said with a grin and was gone just as quickly.

~*~*~*~

The next morning another Captain's meeting was held to address the second infiltration. Luckily most of the captain's had been out drinking with one another. The few Captains that had been home had captured their would-be killer's and imprisoned them, but they had taken poison during the night to avoid interrogation later. Most found this to be very unsettling because it showed just how committed this group was to their efforts. They were also very well organized to start by trying to kill the leader's first. It was now apparent that Ichimaru and Tousen had indeed joined their ranks and were pulling strings…no attempt had been made on Matsumoto Rangiku's life. It was also announced at the meeting that special teams from several divisions would be sent out with several Captains to find and eliminate the enemy threat; much like they had done with the traitor Aizen after his army had been crushed.

"These teams will be hand selected and announced in one week. Be sure to get the rest you need. And know that if you are chosen for this mission refusal will NOT be tolerated." Genryusai finished as he sent a heated look at Kenpachi who just sighed and frowned. "Dismissed."

~*~*~*~

After leaving the meeting hall Kenpachi felt Yachiru land on his back from her position on the roof where she'd been waiting. "What did he say, Ken-chan?"

"He said to get some rest cause we're leaving in a week." Kenpachi had seen Unohana smile at him but frown when he turned his head away. He wasn't in the mood to be handing out smiles today. He was still in his general frustrated mood that he'd been in as of late and the appearance of the girl outside of his mind and someone trying to kill Yachiru wasn't making it any better.

"Are you feeling alright, Kenpachi-san?" Unohana asked as she caught up with him and placed her hand on his arm.

Jerking his arm away he said "Peachy," and kept walking.

"Okay…I guess I just wanted to say thank you for the tea." She continued as she gave him another one of her heart warming smiles that were clearly not reaching his heart today.

"Whatever. I gotta go." And with that he took off in one leap, leaving a very dejected Unohana behind.

~*~*~*~

Kenpachi was storming through the halls of his division hoping he would find someone looking at him the wrong way so he could start a fight. Apparently news of his ire had spread through his ranks because anyone that he actually encountered made sure to act as though their attention was drawn to something else. 'Why did I treat her like that?' He wondered with a small pang of guilt. "Eh, what the hell's it matter anyway. Better off if she hates me." He grumbled.

He had opened the door to the training grounds with the intention of just destroying ANYTHING when he noticed a small, steaming cup sitting on top of a large rock. With his curiosity peaked Kenpachi walked over to the rock and absently remembered that is was the same place he was sitting right before he passed out. There was a note with the cup that read:

Dear Kenpachi-kun,  
Jasmine to calm your spirit. I hope you feel better soon.  
--Retsu

He picked up the cup as he sighed and sat down on the grass. "I am such an ass." He said as he took a sip of the aromatic tea.

The tea had worked. He had been able to calm down, if even just a little, after he sat outdoors, drinking the tea, and letting a cool breeze relax his tense body. Once he had returned to walking the halls everyone felt like they could breathe a little easier sensing that they wouldn't lose an arm for a mistaken look. If they had only known who had been able to calm their raging Captain, Unohana would have received many more baskets of tea later.

~*~*~*~

That night Kenpachi tucked Yachiru into her own bed, feeling that she was safe for the night, and retired to his room expecting another dreamless night. But he was wrong…

After his eyes shut and his breathing and pulse slowed and evened out, Kenpachi found himself once again in the darkness of his mind. Deciding to go with it he began to search out the light like he'd done so many times before.

Once he found it, it was white again and the small, green girl was seated in the center writing in the dirt. He continued to walk toward her silently until he stood directly in front of her, just outside the circle. She didn't appear to know of his presence until he spoke, "Where were you last time, kid?"

With shining eyes the girl jerked her head up and smiled. "I didn't think you would come back! I was starting to get lonely…"

"Well I'm here now. Oi, what were you doing in my room last night?"

"You were going to need your sword…and I knew you wouldn't wake up on your own in time to save her."

"Thanks."

And then there was a silent pause as she went back to writing in the dirt. "What are you writing?" Kenpachi asked.

"My name." She said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. But before Kenpachi could read it she ran her hand over it and it disappeared. "You can't know yet. Not until you remember…so keep trying." She encouraged as another cabbage butterfly fluttered down from the source of the light. It first landed on Kenpachi's nose and then fluttered around the little girl as she stood up and started chasing it.

Kenpachi decided to sit down and watch her play for a while, but as he watched her he got an odd feeling…like he'd seen this before. As he continued to watch, he would occasionally see flashes of a dark haired little girl with sparkling green eyes chasing a cabbage butterfly in a different time and place. Then all of a sudden, it crashed down on him in one huge wave. Every part of the past he'd forgotten came rushing back.

The little girl from the dream stopped just within the light as her butterfly flew off into the darkness. When she turned around she was met with a wide-eyed man. "You finally remembered, didn't you?" She asked with a large smile.

Kenpachi dumbly nodded as he let a name clumsily roll from his mouth. "H…H-Hana…?"

The girl in front of him nodded in confirmation. "But not the one you're thinking of. I'll explain it to you now…"

~*~*~*~

Unohana had been sitting in bed with a cup of tea and a book when she heard a banging at her door. "Who could that be at this hour?" She asked herself while she tied her robe and walked to open the door. "Yes?"

But she was greeted with the imposing figure of Kenpachi, his hands on either side of the doorway propping him up, head bowed and long hair hiding his face. He was dressed in his sleeping robes and panting as though he would collapse at any moment. "Kenpachi-kun? What's wrong?"

When her voice reached his ears he fell to his knees and wrapped his long arms around Unohana's small waist, burying his face in her stomach…and he cried.

When she felt his body start to shake and the tears soak through her robes, Unohana placed a calming hand on the back of his head and stroked his hair with the other. She continued to do this until he was able to calm down enough to stand and come in.

~*~*~*~

In Kenpachi's dream, the recovered memories replayed over and over in front of his eyes. It was of a time shortly after he'd first come to Soul Society after dying. He was sitting on a large rock watching a small girl run in an open field playing with butterflies. As she cupped her hands around one she ran up to him calling "Look! Look! I caught one, Papa!"

He looked down at the girl with the sparkling green eyes and gently took her small hands in his and opened them so they could watch the butterfly flutter off. "What did you do that for, Papa? It took a long time to catch it!" She pouted.

"If someone caught you, wouldn't you want them to let you go free to be with your family?" He answered in a gentle tone.

"Hai…" She said as she understood what he was saying. But then her mood perked up as she looked back up at him and said "I wouldn't mind if you caught me and kept me forever though, Papa!" And she giggled as he scooped her up into his arms and cradled her into his thin chest.

"I'm very glad to hear that. I'm going to keep you forever and ever my little flower…my little Hana."

The scene then faded to a different place sometime later. He was running through the streets at a breakneck speed calling out "Hana! Hana, where are you?!" A group of bandits had been spotted nearby and Hana was missing. He ran all the way to the field where she played to stop at the edge and search the large open area for the small girl.

Then he found her…and the bandits. They were standing in a circle pushing her from person to person as she screamed and cried out when she finally fell down. When she stood again he saw one of the men raise a machete. At that point he came out of his fear induced paralysis to start running once again, but he knew he would get there too late…

The large blade was brought down on the small girl and she fell to the side. The men laughed and one of them pointed to him and they backed away and watched as he called out her name and stumbled to the ground beside her.

"Hana…Hana look at me. It's Papa, please open your eyes for Papa." He pleaded as he held her small, limp body in his arms and stroked her cheek softly as she continued to bleed.

Opening her eyes slowly, the little girl said "Papa…w-why? We were s-s'posed to be happy here…forever and ever…"

"I…I know, baby." He choked out around the sobs that were threatening to start wracking his body at any moment. "You'll be okay. Just…just hang in there for me, okay?"

"Okay Papa…" She said with a weak smile as she coughed up some blood and reached up to touch the thin features of his face. "Papa…I feel…cold…" and with that last word the sparkling light disappeared from her eyes and her hand fell limply to her side once more.

"Hana…" he whispered as he held her body close to him and cried.

"Aww, look at that, guys…looks like we stepped on his flower." One of the bandits teased as the other's laughed. "The only thing left to do is let him die with her!" Another one of the men chimed in as they began to close in around the grieving man.

The still nameless Kenpachi gently laid the lifeless girl down on the grass and stood up to face her killers. Letting his grief and anger overtake him, a new and previously dormant power awoke within. He embraced the power as it encompassed him and flowed through his veins. Slowly, a long sword began to materialize in his hand and with tears stinging his eyes and rage fueling his actions he quickly cut down all of the men before they even knew he'd moved.

He watched as blood pooled all around him, but followed one lone butterfly with his eyes as it landed in a small pool of Hana's blood then took off again to land on her cheek. When it finally left her body, there were only a few red spots left underneath one of her now dull green eyes…

Kenpachi then remembered him burying his daughter. They had died together in the living world over five centuries ago after Samurai attacked their village. They'd come to Soul Society after being told by a shinigami that it would be a peaceful place where they could live happily. But Kenpachi started to truly loath the position he now held as a shinigami.

He looked to his left to see the dream Hana looking up at him, waiting for him to speak. "Do you hate me?" he asked in a soft, remorse coated voice.

"Well, I'm not actually the original Hana, but even if I was I wouldn't hate you." She answered as she touched his shaking hand.

"If you're not Hana, who are you?"

"You haven't figured it out yet? When your spirit powers awoke after Hana's death, you subconsciously made it in the image you still held of her. I am your zanpakutou."

"And what is your name?"

"Chimidoro Hana."

Kenpachi scoffed as he still sat in a shocked state, trying to take in everything he'd experienced. "Blood covered flower…how…fitting." He paused. "What can you do?"

"I heal those that my hilt touches. They can be on the brink of death, but I will be able to revive them. Don't worry though, my blade still cuts."

"Well that's just damn ironic now." He paused again. "Will I be able to achieve a bankai?"

"You'll have to talk to…someone else about that."

"Who? Is there someone else here?"

"You've already met her once…" Hana trailed off.

Then his fight with the older red-clad girl came to mind and he looked down at Hana for confirmation to which she nodded. "Who is she?"

"More or less, she's the anger that you still hold about Hana's death…the anger at the world, the shinigami, and at yourself."

"Where is she?"

Hana paused as she looked down to her lap. "I am her. But that is an explanation for a different time. You need to go now so you can see to her." Hana stated as she stood and dusted herself off.

"Who?"

"The person that you know will listen and comfort." And then Hana followed her ritual of pushing Kenpachi from the dream.

He was practically thrown into a sitting position as he looked around his room like he was seeing it for the first time. Everywhere he looked he could see her face, hear her voice, and smell her scent. "Hana…oh god, Hana…" he said as he picked up his zanpakutou from its place at his bedside. "I'm so sorry…" he whispered as tears began to fall on the chipped blade.

~*~*~*~

Kenpachi now found himself at Unohana's house, lying in her living room as he simply rested with his head in her lap, eyes shut, as she continued to run her fingers through his hair. He still hadn't told her about his dream. 'I don't want to ruin this moment…' he thought, 'not like last time.'

Unohana was of course worried about the strong man that had collapsed to his knees and cried in her doorway, but she didn't ask. She knew that right now he just needed to be comforted and he would tell her what had happened in his own time. "Kenpachi-kun? Are you asleep?" she asked in a gentle, hushed tone not wanting to wake him in case he was indeed sleeping.

"No," he answered in his deep voice.

"Are you feeling any better?"

He opened his eyes as he sat up and moved to be beside her. "Yes…and thank you. I'm sorry for disturbing you so late."

"It's not a problem," she said with a smile. "I'm here anytime you need to talk."

Kenpachi watched her smiling face as the light from a few candles on a nearby table danced across her features. 'She's so beautiful…' he thought as he looked deep into her eyes. 'How could I have not seen this before?' and with that final thought he reached over to put his large hand behind her head and gently pulled her to him, stopping with their faces a few inches away from each other. "What are you thinking, Retsu?" He asked in a husky voice.

Unohana stared deeply back into his eyes, watching the emotions play across them as he asked his question. "I…I-I…" but she was speechless as he held her in such a close, intimate position.

"Me too." He said as he closed his eyes and sealed the distance between them. Their kiss was soft and tender at first and then steadily became more passionate, but the entire time it was slow and gentle. Kenpachi was lost in the feel of her warm lips against his and her scent that floated in the air around him.

Unohana had been surprised at first at how gentle he was and when he parted his lips slightly to nip at her lower lip, she granted him the permission he was asking for and shyly opened her mouth. He took his time and explored the corners of her warm mouth as she let a soft moan escape her throat and enter his mouth. After a few minutes they broke apart for air and they both looked at each other, flushed and lightly panting.

Not wanting to go any further and ruin the tender moment they had just shared, they both silently agreed to just sit with each other in a comfortable silence as they both fell asleep sitting in the floor of Unohana's home; Kenpachi leaning against a chair and Unohana resting her head on his broad chest with his arm around her waist.

~*~*~*~

The morning sunlight was pouring into the room that smelled of Chamomile and pancakes. Kenpachi heard the gentle opening and closing of a door as he opened his eyes just in time to see the silhouette of Unohana walking away, on her way to work. "Work…dammit…" Kenpachi grumbled as he slowly woke up to see a still hot cup of tea and a plate of pancakes on the table in front of him. He knew that he would be late and that Yachiru was probably tearing down the division in search of him. Oh well…he had pancakes!

~*~*~*~

After enjoying his breakfast, Kenpachi walked home to change and then go to work. His thoughts were still wrapped around everything that had happened the night before; the memories, the feelings of loss, anger, and guilt, and then of course the tender moment that had transpired between Unohana and himself.

He'd gradually started to remember what had happened after Hana had died. He'd buried her body in the entrance of a cave in one of the forests of the rukongai. Clovers and other wild flowers had flourished in the environment and it was the home of hundreds of butterflies in the spring.

Not having Hana in his life had made him angry and antisocial. The few people that he had known in the rough district began to treat him as an outcast and once news of his now murderous tendencies spread, the people drove him away from their village. Everywhere he went he was treated as a demon. He began seeking out fights finding that aside from the anger he felt in his heart he was still able to feel pain and the sadistic pleasure he got from watching his defeated opponent bleed.

As the days turned to months and the months turned to decades, his mind began to block out the painful memory of his murdered daughter and he began to live only to fight and become stronger.

Then he'd found Yachiru. She was still just a toddler when she'd crawled across the blood soaked earth to sit in front of him and laugh as she smeared the blood from his sword around. He'd long forgotten why by this time, but he knew that something was compelling him to take care of the now orphaned child…to care for her in place of the child that he hadn't been able to protect.

Kenpachi came out of his thoughts as he opened the doors to his division to find all of his squad members running around wildly looking in rooms and under furniture all while his pink-haired Lieutenant stood in a chair shouting orders and different places to search for the Captain. "You all know what he looks like," she shouted, "he's not hard to miss! How hard can it be to find him?! He's over six feet tall for crying out—Ken-chan!" Yachiru cheered mid-sentence as she jumped down from her commanding position and ran up to him. "Where were you?!? Do you know how worried I was when you weren't in your room this morning?! I can't believe you would do something so cruel!" She chastised.

"Yo, brat, when did you become my mother?! I'm the Captain around here and I'll do what I damn well please!" Then he turned to the men who were standing around watching the quarrel between Captain and Lieutenant and yelled, "All you get back to work! You've already wasted enough time this morning!"

Kenpachi knew that he couldn't tell his squad that he'd learned his zanpakutou's name and abilities because it had been he who enforced the 'no kidou in eleventh division' rule. It was a very frustrating situation…his zanpakutou had finally spoken to him and he had a new found power, but it used a healing form of kidou…he would be the laughing stock of his division as well as a few people outside of his command.

He was about to let his frustration get the better of him until he thought back to the night before…to why he'd been late this morning…'Retsu…' he thought with a sigh. She'd taken him in, comforted him, accepted him without judgment, and even fed him. And what had he given her back? Not even an explanation for his behavior. He needed to see her. And that's when he realized that it had gone past WANTING to see her and be in her company, but he now NEEDED to be able to see her face and feel her soft, warm touch.

He was now walking down the white streets, letting his feet guide him to the fourth division as he let his mind wander over his now obvious feelings. 'Do I love her?' he questioned himself. But as his mind brought back the memory of their candle-lit kiss and he felt his stomach tighten he knew he had his answer. 'I do. I love her.' With that one self-confession it felt as though a weight of incomprehensible proportion had been lifted from his shoulders and his steps quickened. It had been so long since his feet felt so light. He'd just let a truly sincere smile grace his features when he stopped dead in his tracks. What if she didn't feel the same way? What if their kiss had meant nothing to her? 'Guess I'll just have to see how she acts when I get there…' he thought as he started moving toward his destination once again.

~*~*~*~

Unohana was humming a light tune as she went about her work. She couldn't remember the last time she'd been so…giddy! Her subordinates had watched her as she made her rounds and checked on their patients and they couldn't help but wonder if she had a fever and was experiencing some sort of delirium.

After doing a general check on the patients in the relief station she headed toward a back room to prepare for Ukitake Juushiro's monthly check-up. He'd been improving as of late and she was hoping that he would once again be showing signs of improvement. As she finished setting out her standard tools she heard a light series of knocks on the door and looked up as she saw Ukitake entering the room with his normal wave and charming smile. "Hello Captain Ukitake, how have you been feeling?" she asked as he took a seat in front of her.

"Very well, I haven't had an episode since the last time I was here and I've even been able to be a little more active lately." He answered in an enthusiastic tone.

"I'm very glad to hear that. Shall we proceed?"

"Whenever you're ready." He answered with a smile.

Sometime later the exam was finished and Unohana was pleased to report that it did seem as though his body was getting stronger. Through the process of the exam Ukitake had been watching his long-time friend and physician with interest as she seemed to almost float as she hummed and smiled.

Shrugging his Captain's coat back on, Ukitake finally spoke up, "You seem to be in a much happier mood than usual Captain Unohana, and you're practically glowing. Has something particular happened to inspire this?"

Unohana just blushed and smiled as she said "A gentleman never asks and a lady never tells, Captain."

"Be careful with words like that, Unohana-sama. Someone might think there was a man in your life." Ukitake warned.

But the only reply he got was a deeper blush and a larger smile.

With a gasp, Ukitake smiled at the woman that he'd come to view like another sister and couldn't help but ask "Is it a man? If you're willing to tell, I'm willing to promise that it won't leave the room, Captain's honor." He promised as he held up his right hand.

Unohana thought about it for a moment before she carefully said, "A romantic interest is definitely a possibility." Then she continued to put away her tools as Ukitake's eyes lit up at the prospect of his friend finally finding a companion.

"Is there a possibility of you telling me who the potential romantic interest might be?"

"No, there is nothing definitive right now and I don't want to jump ahead of myself. Since it looks as if you're going to stay for a while, would you like some tea?"

"Tea sounds wonderful, thank you. Would you let me know if I was right if I guessed who it was?"

"Perhaps." Unohana answered as she set the water on to boil.

"Let's see, let's see…" Ukitake said as he tapped his chin and thought of all the ranking shinigami males. "Anyone if first division is far too old for you and it isn't myself or any of my subordinates…Shunsui is completely enamored with Nanao…I doubt you go for the furry type so Komamura is also out of the running…it's not Komamura's Lieutenant Iba-san is it?"

"No, you may try again if you must." Unohana said as she poured the two cups of tea and sat down with Ukitake as he continued to think.

"Renji-san is taken with Rukia-chan…could it be Byakuya? I think he would make a very nice match for you."

"Still no…"

"Surely not Kurotsuchi??"

"That man has many problems…none of which I wish to be involved with." Unohana stated as she thought about the twisted behavior the twelfth division Captain often displayed.

"Well, I think there are only three left. There's Hisagi, Kira, and Kenpachi. Kenpachi is almost your opposite in every way, so…" But he stopped there as he saw Unohana falter with her cup and turn a lovely shade of pink. "It is Kenpachi…isn't it?" Ukitake slowly asked with a surprised grin.

"It's a possibility." Unohana said in a soft voice.

"Well I doubt even Shunsui would have seen that coming and he's always had a talent for seeing attraction amongst people."

"As I said, nothing is certain…yet."

""Yet" implies that something has happened that might encourage something more in the future. Would you mind sharing with a friend?"

And Ukitake and Unohana sat for a while more discussing her newly developing love life over their tea until Ukitake had announced that he needed to get back to work and Unohana stood to walk him to the door. "That was lovely, Ukitake-san. We should have tea more often."

"Yes, maybe we could meet outside of work sometime for some more tea." He agreed with another one of his award winning smiles.

"Just let me know when you are free." Unohana said as she followed Ukitake into the hallway. Although just as she was clearing the threshold of the room they'd been in, one of the straps on Unohana's sandals snapped and she tripped to fall forward into Ukitake's chest. He caught her with ease and held onto her as he asked if she was okay. Once she had convinced him that she was fine he let her go.

After she'd removed her sandal, they turned again to walk down the hall together and Unohana barely caught a glimpse of the tattered end of a Captain's coat. 'Kenpachi…?' She thought, but when they turned the next corner and faced out into the main room he was gone…

~*~*~*~

Kenpachi walked into the fourth division building, going past everyone and ignoring their odd and fearful glances. He was about to turn a corner to go to Unohana's office when he heard her voice along with Ukitake's as he asked her out to tea. He'd been ready to brush it off as a friendly offer until he stepped around the corner to see Unohana in Ukitake's arms, both of them smiling.

As he clenched his fists and turned his head he thought 'What was I expecting? Ukitake would be able to treat her better and make her happy…I'm not meant for love; I was born to fight. That's it.' And with that final thought he turned on his heel leaving the two behind, oblivious that he'd even been there.

~*~*~*~

A/N:  
Awwww! Poor Ken-chan…:[ stupid misunderstandings…-sighs- well, my return was received better than I had thought :] I had one pie thrown at me by Kohryu, but I like pie so that wasn't so bad ^_^ I'm still working on smoothing out the rough edges of the next chapter so I have no idea when it's going up…just try to bear with me. I hope it wasn't disappointing to anyone.....Hope you enjoyed and be sure to let me know what you think!

TTFN~CI


	8. A message from your author

A message from your author:

Greetings to all! I wanted to announce my return and give everyone a heads up about the changes that I'm planning. I'm not sure if these sorts of messages are allowed to be posted as chapters, but this notice will be coming down soon.

So here's how it is:

I'm back and intend to take up writing again.

As far as the changes that I'm planning…well, short version, I'm basically going to rewrite or revise all of my chapter stories. If you like them exactly as they are now, I suggest that you save them as documents to your own computer, and I'm sorry that that particular version may remain unfinished. They will come down and/or be replaced. I estimate that these changes are going to start in the next couple of days, but I'm not sure what story they will happen to first.

If you would like a more detailed account of why I will be changing them or what kinds of changes I will be making to the individual stories, I put it all on my profile page.

I thank you for reading my works in the past, and I hope you'll stick around for the new and improved versions that will be coming soon.

All the best,  
ConsistentlyInconsistent


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